The Pale Wraith and the Black Swordsman
by Storm Wolf77415
Summary: Cowritten with Centurious the Azure. Yuuki Asuna could hardly call her life exciting. Until she met a charming young man who helped her find a strength inside her no one expected her to find. Asuna x OC.
1. Livening up the Party

Disclaimer: All of Sword Art Online is the creation of Shoji Kawahara, including Kouchirou Yuuki. But since he is given little characterization, this is merely my depiction of what he could be like. The Sanada family and Ayami Mochizuki-Yuuki belongs to Centurious the Azure.

Sword Art Online: The Pale Rider and the Black Swordsman

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Livening up the Party

(October 4th, 2022 AD, Tokyo Hilton Hotel, Tokyo Japan)

There were times Yuuki Asuna wished she lived in a dark hole on a deserted island in the far reaches of the Pacific Ocean. Sadly, tropical islands were in short supply in the middle of downtown Tokyo, but maybe if she got lucky, Godzilla would rampage through, that way she could find a place to hide amidst the wreckage. "This is so boring." She sighed.

Asuna sighed, trying as best as possible to blend into the wall in the grand ballroom of the Tokyo Hilton, where her family's company, Recto Technical Industries, was throwing a huge party to welcome a new possible business partner. These parties were old hat to the fifteen year old girl, and they were all the same dull affairs with cheap J-pop music, and people with way too much money to throw about making idle chatter that she held very little interest in.

She jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder. A pair of warm hazel eyes framed by dark brown hair greeted her. Asuna's older brother, Yuuki Kouchirou gave a warm smile. "Hello there, little sister. I see you're doing your best to avoid Mom and Sugou." He put an arm around her shoulder "I don't blame you, sis. This is just Mom's latest attempt to grab more money for pockets that are already way too full."

"Last week she set up on four marriage dates! And they were all men twice my age!" Asuna sighed, resting her head against Kouchirou's shoulder. "I wish Mother wouldn't control my life so much."

"Yeah, someone needs to tell her the world doesn't belong to her!" At that moment the Yuuki siblings were joined by a woman the same age as Kouchirou wearing a dark blue business suit trimmed in gold with dark blue two inch heels on her feet, her long black hair tied in a low ponytail, brilliant blue eyes projected a sharp and decisive air. She looked quite sophisticated and professional…until she opened her mouth. "If she had her way, she'd hoard all the oxygen for herself. The rest of the human race desperately needs that oxygen thank you very much!"

"Hi, Ayami!" Asuna exclaimed, embracing her sister in law, Yuuki Ayami. The two had been married for the better part of going on four years. Kouchirou was a high level executive at Recto Industries, with Ayami as his faithful right hand woman. The two had gone out of their way to make Asuna's life a little less dreary. The girls would go out shopping together and Kouchirou was always there to comfort his sister when she was sad.

Ayami folded her arms across her ample chest, taking note of the gaudy decorations, and bland sounding music. "So which pointless executive is this party for again and how much money did the old bat waste for it?" She asked, rolling her eyes at the lecherous glances some of the men were sending her way.

"The new corporate head of Digital Escape's Japanese branch is hardly pointless, young lady!" A clipped voice spoke. Asuna cringed a little and Kouchirou looked on impassively as their mother, Yuuki Kyouko marched up, her hair was a deep rich brown. Her face would have been considered beautiful if not for the high nose and jaw line which gave a very austere impression. Brown eyes looked on with disdain. "I can assure you the money for this party was well spent, Miss Mochizuki."

"Oh, hi Mom! How are you? This is a great party! I think only half of the people have gone to sleep yet!" Asuna did her best to stifle a laugh. Kyouko had never approved of her eldest child's marriage to Ayami, saying that she was below their status. The eldest Yuuki sibling had made his feeling clear, running away with Ayami to elope. Yuuki Shouzou, Kouchirou and Asuna's father, quietly gave his blessing, providing them the money to get married.

Kyouko just ignored her daughter-in-law's comments, turning her nose up before fixing her gaze on Asuna. "What are you doing hiding here in the corner? You have mingling to do Asuna. Sugou has been looking for you all night, and I want you to spend some time with him."

"I'm sorry Mom, I just remembered a book report I need to finish!" Asuna said, quickly moving to leave, but only to stopped by her mother's hand on her shoulder.

"I seem to recall you having done that book report already. I know this because I edited it. No more excuses." Kyouko snapped.

"Ah! Here you all are!" It was then Shouzou appeared, the dim lights of the ballroom reflected on his face, marred with wrinkles and stress lines. He smiled warmly at his son. "Hello Kouchirou, thanks for coming out." He planted a chaste kiss on Ayami's cheek. "You look as beautiful as ever, my dear. I'm glad you could make it."

He gave a stern glare to Kyouko. "Allow me to introduce you kids to our esteemed guest. Mr. Yukimura Sanada." He called across the room. "Mura, get over here and meet my kids!" Yukimura Sanada was a tall man with a broad chest and shoulders, wearing a very expensive tailored Armani suit. Kouchirou noted he seemed of mixed blood, noting Anglo features in his face. Steel rimmed glasses caught the light off of his bifocal lenses, slightly obscuring the gray eyes underneath. A thick brown beard, covered the lower part of his face.

The Yuuki siblings would have found the man rather intimidating if not for the fact he was snacking on a tray of sushi and cocktail wieners he had procured earlier from a flustered waitress. "Good evening to you." Yukimura spoke in a deep baritone voice, before non-chalantly downing a hot dog.

"My son, Kouchirou and his wife, Ayami. This is my daughter, Asuna." Shouzou said. Kouchirou offered a formal bow to the older man, who returned the gesture. Yukimura took Ayami's hand, gently kissing it, repeating with Asuna.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way, Mr. Sanada. I think it's time to talk business." Kyouko cut in. "I'm looking forward to the new partnership between Recto and Digital Escape." She didn't get any further than that.

"Ah, there's plenty of time for that. This is a party! we're supposed to be having fun." Yukimura waved her off, taking a bite of some sushi. "I must say Kyouko, you really went all out on the catering. The food's not bad. The decorations are nice too." Yukimura sounded almost bored, chomping on another hot dog. "Although, I think the setting is rather lacking. I would have picked the lodge we golf at. The artificial lake looks absolutely stunning from the deck, especially in the evening. Wouldn't you agree, Shou?"

"Yeah, especially in the evening, when the lights turn on to illuminate the fountains." Shouzou couldn't help but grin. Kyouko huffed a little before marching off, clearly offended at being pushed aside. Kouchirou and Asuna found their opinion of Yukimura going up quite a bit. He looked around, scanning the crowd. "Is something wrong, Mura?" The Yuuki Patriarch asked.

"I'm just looking for my son. I was hoping to introduce him to your children." Yukimura drawled. "Of course he's been known to do his own thing I'm not around." He shrugged. "He'll turn up eventually. Come on Shou, let's catch up." The two men walked off, leaving the kids alone.

"Perhaps this business deal will actually be beneficial for once." Ayami remarked. It was then her face fell, as she saw a man a little older than Kouchirou approach, his hair was slicked back, horn rim glasses framed his eyes. He gained a lecherous expression in his eye when she looked at him. "Oh, no…Asuna, get ready to run. Slimebag at seven o'clock!"

"Damn, it's Sugou!" Kouchirou managed through clenched teeth. Sugou Nobuyuki was the head of Recto Progress, a subsidiary company that served as Recto's in-house game production studio. He had made the company a significant amount of money over his seven year tenure as Recto Progress's chief of operations, and was upheld as a model employee by Board of Directors.

However the Yuuki siblings would have told others different. They had known Sugou since they were children. And knew him for what he really was, a greedy, amoral bastard. Sugou sidled up to Kouchirou. "Hey there, K! How are you?" He said, his mask of smiles firmly in place. "Hello Ayami, looking just as lovely as ever. So nice you could make it to the party. And Asuna…" he drew out the 'S', "You look exquisite!"

Asuna was sweating. The dress she had on left little to the imagination. A sleeveless number in white, trimmed in brilliant red, it came to just above her knees, exposing a very nice pair of legs wearing tan panty hose and white pumps. Under Sugou's gaze it felt like she was wearing nothing. "Hello Sugou. It's a nice evening, don't you think?" She tried to put on a brave front.

"It is, but you look even nicer, I'm guessing Ayami picked that outfit for you?" Sugou's eyes raked up and down. "She always did have great fashion sense." Ayami flipped the bird behind his back, before shooting the younger girl a sympathetic glance. Sugou got up in Asuna's face, his finger began looping through her long strawberry blonde locks. "I see you're still using the same shampoo. I always did love the scent."

Kouchirou bristled. His first instinct being to push Sugou away, but Kyouko was looking in their direction. It was thanks to her he got his position in the first place. Ayami was about to tell Sugou to get lost in her own colorful manner, when a footstep sounded right next to them before someone cleared his throat, shoving Sugou aside.

The person in a question was a fifteen year old boy. He had short midnight black hair that was honestly a bit messy in its feathery appearance. His feathery bangs framed his bright grey eyes, glimmering in the ballroom lights like molten silver. He was shorter than either man, but taller than your average boy at their age. Honestly, he looked like a foreigner with his sharp Anglo features.

"Heya," He greeted the girl, ignoring the adults present. He wore a properly disarming grin. Asuna automatically smiled in response. Something about it made her relax. He gently took the girl's hand. "Hope you don't mind. I'm gonna dance with you. You look like you're tired of being a wallflower."

"Uhhh, okay!" Asuna blushed, not sure what to make of her rescuer. The mysterious boy grabbed her arm, dragging her onto the dance floor. Kouchirou just shrugged taking Ayami by the hand and following his sister.

"Sorry, Nobu. Looks like you'll have to get some quality time with my sis on a later date." Kouchirou grinned, looking to his wife. "Come on hon, let's dance."

The boy took her hand, and placed his hand on her hip. They started slow dancing to the sweet, easy going pop song going on in the background. He gave her an apologetic look. Despite that, he didn't look like he was sorry. He wore a victorious smile. "Sorry, if I startled you," he said softly, looking her in the eye. "I was bored... So, I decided to grab you. My old man dragged me away from playing Call of Duty to be at this snooze fest. I mean, seriously. Whoever decided to arrange this has to be the most boring person in Japan."

"Then you can send our mother the thank you card." Kouchirou remarked as he and Ayami came up alongside the other couple. "Thanks for showing up when you did."

The boy's mouth went agape as realization flickered in his grey eyes. "Oooh," He let it out in a small voice, glancing over at Kouchirou. He turned his attention back to Asuna. "You're the Yuukis. That means your mom is that snobby robot lady who greeted me, and my dad downstairs."

It was Asuna and Kouchirou's turn to go slack jawed. "You're Mr. Sanada's son?" Asuna asked.

The boy shrugged, informing her honestly. "Actually, there are three of us. My older brother Morinobu felt this kind of thing was beneath him, Kuro's the youngest. I'm the only one who agreed to come with my dad. Yukimasa Sanada is my name, and I guess breaking up creepy, soulless business man's hair sniffing is my game."

"The creepy soulless business man with the hair sniffing fetish was Sugou Nobuyuki. We don't like him very much." Kouchirou said. "I'm Yuuki Kouchirou, this is my wife Yuuki Ayami, and my little sister Yuuki Asuna. We owe you a small debt of gratitude, Yukimasa."

He looked at Asuna sympathetically. The moment he had seen Sugou playing around with her, he felt a desire to chop the man into pieces before impaling him in the eye. "You mom is a robot and your boyfriend is a creepy, old man? You have it tough Asuna."

"He's not my boyfriend! I don't even like him!" Asuna spat vehemently. "My robot of a mother, as you put it, arranged this whole thing!" It wasn't often that Asuna got really angry, but if it involved Sugou Nobuyuki, everyone would get to see her in all her fury. "I'd love nothing more than to see Sugou punted off the top of Recto Tower!"

Yukimasa didn't recoil at her reaction to his assertion. It was what he was hoping for. "Why haven't you, then?" He asked curiously, laughing a bit. He asked, taking his hand off her hip so he could spin Asuna around. He lifted her hand up to give her enough space. She spun perfectly like a ballerina dancer, much to his satisfaction. She was a spinning top of strawberry blonde tresses. She came around to face him again. He smiled impishly at her. That expression alone implied something foolhardy going on in his mind. "I think I get it. You're one of those suppressed princess types. You want to get out, and get down. You don't want to do it because you don't want to make your parents mad."

"What do you mean by that?" Asuna pouted. Yukimasa's first thought was how cute she looked when her face got all scrunched up. He gave her a cheek loving pat, causing her to start blushing slightly. His hand was rough and yet remarkably warm.

"I'm just messing with you." He chimed sweetly, patting her comfortingly on the arm. "I'm sure you're pretty brave when you wanna be. Tell me about Yuuki Asuna. What does the princess of Recto do for fun?"

"I like swimming, but I mostly just spend time studying." Asuna sighed. "My mother is a slave driver that way." Yukimasa blinked a few second, looking to Kouchirou, who just shrugged.

"Wow." he replied in the flattest voice he could manage. "Asuna, I seriously think your mom is a T-800 sent from a war ravaged future to kill your buzz. You really need to have some more excitement in your life." His lips curled into a smirk. "Perhaps you'd like to liven up this party a bit? I have a plan if you're interested." He looked to Kouchirou and Ayami, "You're welcome to join in, something tells me you like this as little as I do."

"What do you have in mind?" Kouchirou asked.

"You could try following my lead." Yukimasa said helpfully. "What do you think about this?" Everyone leaned forward as he began whispering. Each word caused a smile to slowly manifest on their lips. He lifted his head up, revealing a thin, devious smile going from ear to ear.

"I gotta admit, I like your style kid. You clearly take after your old man that way." Ayami smirked. "I haven't done something like this since I was in high school." She became serious. "However, if we do this, we'll have to be very careful."

"Indeed, dear. It may seem rather petty of me to think this way, being a grown adult and all." Kouchirou said, a rather devious look in his own brown eyes. "But I've wanted to get back at Mom for years. So count me in for this."

A devilish twinkle reflected in his grey eyes. "I know you're dying to be a rebellious princess, Asuna."

"I…don't know about this. I wouldn't want to make Mom angry." Asuna said.

"Isn't your mom always mad?" Ayami asked Asuna carefully. "She's always nitpicking everyone for no reason. Kyouko looks for problems when there are none."

"Come on Asuna! Weren't you just complaining earlier about you wished Mom didn't control every aspect of your 24/7?" Kouchirou asked his sister. If anyone had ever been able to convince Asuna to do something it would be her older brother. Growing up he had always looked out for her in ways that not even her parents did.

Yukimasa nodded sagely. "You should listen to your brother, he knows what he's talking about." He squared himself up, looking deep into her eyes. "Look, Asuna. I'm not going to pressure you to do anything you don't want to do. I barely know you, but I get the impression you want to send a message. Do what you want. Not what your mother, or us tell you what to do."

Asuka looked from her brother to her sister in law to the strange young man she just met no more than five minutes ago. His words had been quite captivating. His words rang true, she had always been the good girl that did what she was told without question, but in truth she wanted nothing more than to tell her mother exactly how she felt, to lash out and rage. A spark had been ignited inside of her. Her eyes narrowed. "Brother...can you and Ayami distract the DJ while Yukimasa and I set up our little surprise?"

Ayami gave a sinister grin while Kouchirou gave a nod of brotherly approval. "Yes!" Yukimasa cheered, taking her hand. He gave it a tender squeeze, eliciting a shy blush from the young lady. "I knew you were a fighter!" He put on a dopey grin. "I like you already!" His dopey grin turned devious, as he rubbed his hands together. "So my partners in crime, shall we cause some mischief?"

The DJ watched as the couples on the dance floor continued milling about. It almost seemed they were just going through the motions. None of the younger partygoers looked like they were really enjoying themselves. Most of the older ones were just standing around. He sighed, even if Kyouko had offered him a nice fat commission for this, he was bored stiff.

"Excuse me, sir?" A young woman with long dark hair, wearing a dark blue business suit that showed off her trim figure came up to where the DJ was standing. The skirt came down to just above her knees, revealing a pair of killer legs. Her gorgeous blue eyes took him in. She gave him a charming smile. "Some party huh?"

The DJ snorted. "More like a party of the dead. Although I think I see a little spark of life." He gave a slightly lecherous grin. "What do you say the two of us go and get some drinks, sweetheart? Once this whole thing is done we could maybe go back to my place?" Ayami just gave a playful smile, doing her best while hiding her disgust. Her eyes fell on Yukimasa, who signaled to keep going.

Kouchirou stood off to the side of the stage, watching his wife run interference before directing his gaze to where Yukimasa and Asuna were waiting near the other side of the stage. Ayami continued pouring on the sweet talk, before she finally manages to pull the DJ away from his station; she nodded to her husband, who in turn signaled the kids.

"This is our chance to make history, Asuna. You ready?" Yukimasa asked. Asuna's heart was pounding. There was a part of her that wanted to believe this was all just some kind of illusion. The feeling of Yukimasa taking her hand was a reminder this was indeed the real world. They quickly made their way over to the DJ's table where he had set up the controls for the sound system.

Yukimasa pulled a CD case from his jacket, sticking into the player, cueing it up to play in another five minutes. "This should light a fire under everyone's asses." He notices the DJ heading back to the stage. "Let's cheese it, Asuna!" They quickly hopped off the stage, going over to stand with Kouchirou. "Now to sit back and watch the magic happen!"

The music switch was subtle, it still sounded like the same bland, bubble-gum garbage being played all night. The sounds of Justin Beiber's "Baby" began playing. Asuna looked to Yukimasa, wondering what was different. His only expression was a wide grin of merriment. It was then the loud and guttural voice of Slipknot's Corey Taylor blasted on the speakers, giving everyone a taste of what happens when two entirely separate musical genres are thrown into a blender and sprayed out all over the ceiling.

The DJ scrambled to find out what had happened as the partygoers looked around confusedly, sure the music was boring, but this wasn't what they were expecting. The whole time Yukimasa and Asuna huddled in a corner, playing innocent. The youngest of the Yuuki family was watching everyone's reaction. Her brother and sister-in-law were struggling to keep on their feet, laughing as hard as they were. Shouzou looked nonplussed, but she noticed a slight pull on his lips. Yukimura had a slightly bemused expression on his face as he nonchalantly downed some more sushi. Kyouko looked scandalized; she had planned this party down to the slightest detail, who would dare ruin all of her hard work?

Asuna couldn't help but find a sense of satisfaction at seeing her mother looking all flustered. Yuuki Kyouko always was in control of every part of her environment. And now something had disrupted her that control. She stifled a giggle, and finally let went into full out laughter. Yukimasa thumped her on the back. "Nice to see you're finally loosening up." He sighed contentedly. "It's the simple things in life you gotta treasure."

Kouchirou gently elbowed him in the side. "Uh, don't look now, but I think the buzz kill police is on to us." Kyouko had gone up to the DJ, who indicated to Ayami. "You go on ahead, Yukimasa, take my sister with you. We'll run interference on mom." Without another word, Yukimasa grabbed Asuna's arm, and the two hurried out the door.

The two run down the halls before they found a balcony set up with tables and chairs. It was a warm spring evening; Asuna enjoyed the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair as they sat down at one of the tables. "I can't believe we actually did that." Asuna said; her heart was still racing. "It just can't be possible!"

Yukimasa just leaned back in his seat, arms behind his head. "That's the power of taking your life into your own hands, Asuna. I like to think it's a universal principle no matter the culture, not just American." He grinned. "So tell me, how do you feel after your first act of teenage rebellion?" He was rewarded with the most gorgeous sight in the world, Yuuki Asuna looked stunning when she smiled.

"I've never felt freer in my entire life! I feel so alive! It's such a rush!" Asuna laughed, not realizing how much her companion was enjoying the sound of it. "Thank you, Yukimasa. I never realized just how sheltered I've really been." She blushed slightly. "It's like the whole world has changed for me."

Yukimasa gave him a charming smile. "In that case, if you want more, then just stick with me. I can guarantee there's more where that came from. How about we just sit here until the party ends?" He stretched a hand to the horizon, which had begun painting the night sky orange and purple, the sun reflecting off the various skyscrapers. "We have a pretty nice view from where were sitting."

"Okay!" Asuna smiled again. Yukimasa wished he had special eyes that could record every detail of that moment, he wanted to burn that smile into his mind for the rest of his life. He wouldn't think about Asuna's words about the whole world changing for her, but in a few months, it would change for them both, bringing them closer together than they'd ever think.


	2. A Slice of Life, A Moment in Time

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

The Pale Wraith and the Black Swordsman

By Storm Wolf77415 and Centurious the Azure

A Slice of Life, A Moment in Time

(October 9th, 2022)

It had been a few days since the party. Life had returned to normal for everyone. Asuna walked out of school, taking in the fall sunshine. While it was still warm, the signs winter was fast approaching were all around her.

"Hey Asuna!" A voice called out. She turned to see one of her classmates approaching her. A pair of long legs accentuated by the black panty hose she wore with her school uniform. Long black hair hung freely down her back, framing her deep chocolate brown eyes. "Want to walk home together?" the girl asked, pushing a few dark strands of hair out of her gorgeous face.

"Sure, Kimiko. I've got a ton of homework to do." Asuna smiled a little. She had known Hattori Kimiko since kindergarten, her father; Hattori Sanzo had worked for RECT for years. They even went to the same cram school together. There were times when she couldn't help but be jealous of the other girl's killer good looks. Kimiko had aspirations to become a model, having already done a few photo shoots.

In truth, Kimiko was one of the few people she could genuinely call a friend. Kyoko pushed her children hard to excel everything they did. Many of the other girls were jealous of Asuna's good grades, and only became friends so they could try and backstab her during exam time. Thus taking the top spot for themselves. The two girls walked down the narrow street, dead leaves tumbled down the sidewalk.

"So how was that party the other day? I heard your mom went all out on it." Kimiko asked. Asuna blushed slightly as she thought back to that night and the intriguing young man who helped her break out of her shell. The image of Kyoko's face when "Psychosocial Baby" began playing was priceless. Asuna couldn't help but giggle a little. Kimiko arched a delicate eyebrow. "Ooh, did something happen? Come on, girl, I want details!"

Asuna blushed. "Well…I did meet a rather nice boy during the party." That elicited a squeal from Kimiko that nearly ruptured her eardrum. The other girl promptly latched onto her arm.

"You met a boy? Okay, now you have to tell me! What is he like? Is he cute?" Kimiko continued uttering one question after another, rapid fire.

"Okay, enough, Kimiko!" Asuna whined, "Think you could let go of me while you're at it? I'm starting to lose feeling in my arm!" Kimiko let go, giving an apologetic smile. The youngest Yuuki gave her an annoyed glare. "Yes, I did meet a boy during that party. He was the son of my dad's new business partner. I guess he was kind of cute." Asuna remembered Yukimasa's goofy grin. "He had a nice smile, in a weird sort of way."

Asuna recounted the story of how they had decided to liven

up the festivities. Kimiko laughed uproariously. She had never been a big fan of Kyoko, but had been polite if for the sake of her father. "Wow, it sounds like he's definitely a keeper then! Don't let go of him, Asuna!"

The Yuuki heiress rolled her eyes in annoyance. "It's not like I'm going to see him, again. Kimiko. It was a one off deal. He's probably not anywhere near here. I may never see him again."

The girls looked to where a bicycle rolled up. The rider pulled his helmet off, revealing none other than Yukimasa Sanada himself. "Hey, Asuna! Fancy meeting you here!" He replied in his usual cheery tone. He gave a roguish grin, "And I see you have a friend with you as well. Nice to meet you, hon. I'm Yukimasa Sanada, and who would you be?"

"My name is Hattori Kimiko, I go to school with Asuna." Kimiko flipped her long ebony locks over her shoulder while flashing one of her best model smiles.

"She knows how to pick her company. It's nice to meet you, Miss Hattori." Yukimasa redirected his attention to Asuna. "I'm guessing you're wondering how I found you, huh? My dad told me you lived around here. So I thought I'd drop in and say hi. Perhaps if you're not too busy, you and I could catch some dinner and maybe a movie afterwards?""

"B-but, I have cram school in another couple hours!" Asuna said, only to be pushed toward him by Kimiko.

"Oh come on and live a little, hon. I'll just tell our teacher you felt a little ill and went home early." Kimiko leaned in close. "He's a total dish, take this opportunity while you have a chance. I know I would."

Asuna shyly walked up to him, her cheeks turning slightly red. "So…where would you like to go? I know a nice Italian place not too far from here."

Yukimasa grinned, pushing his bike. "I can do Italian. How about we walk there together?" He gave Kimiko a slight nod. "Evening to you, Miss Hattori."

"You two have fun!" Kimiko gave a playful smile and waved, watching as the two of them walked off together, Yukimasa pushing his bike. "I think they make a cute couple."

(October 18th, 2022 AD, RECT Tower, 39th Floor)

The corporate headquarters of RECT was a truly stunning sight to behold. A forty-story high structure made of steel, concrete, and glass that stood proud against the Tokyo skyline. As one of the company's highest-ranking executives, Kouichirou naturally got one of the best offices. Behind his desk was a line of full size windows looked out on an endless line of skyscrapers.

It was especially stunning at twilight, as the sunset, the colors of dusk reflected off all of the buildings, making it resemble something of a kaleidoscope. At that moment, the elder Yuuki sibling was sitting at his desk, going through paperwork. He had signed his name to what seemed like the billionth form, when a thought occurred to him. "Why am I doing this? I have people who can take care of all this for me!" He suddenly wrote a note, effectively dumping all of his paperwork onto the multiple secretaries.

He stood up to look out the window. "Ah…I love being the boss." It was then the door opened, admitting his wife. Ayami was his right hand woman, running the entire department in a manner that would make the crudest drill sergeants cringe. She came up, putting her arms around him. "Hello, my lover, are all our little peons behaving themselves?"

"For now, I rarely need to crack the whip on them to be honest. But I have a reputation to keep up, and sometimes you need to grease the wheels." Ayami smirked, handing him a file. "The itinerary for your trip to Rome next month… It's the same old bullshit, sit in a billion different meetings and learn nothing!" She sighed, going to look out the window. "I swear, your mother sees you nothing as a tool to make more money for this company."

Kouichirou sighed, dropping the file on his desk, going to join his wife. "I don't do this solely for Mom. It's for all the people who work for us." He put his arm around Ayami's waist. "They work hard to support their families and help create something to share with the world. My job is to take care of them, Ayami. One day, my dad will step down and I have to be ready to take over. That's why I do this."

"Even though it comes at the expense of your own life?" She gave him a sharp glare. "It seems like you're always traveling. I feel like I barely see you half the time. And what about Asuna? Don't tell me you approve of the way Kyoko has been trying to pawn her off to Sugou like some cheap door prize?" Kouichirou had no words for Ayami, who just sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. Neither said any more, instead just preferring the silent company.

(Kirigaya Residence, October 24th, 2022)

On the surface, the house is relatively unassuming, but inside, is a young man who would soon become an unexpected legend. Kirigaya Kazuto sat at the dinner table, eating his lunch. On the surface he didn't appear to be much. Tall and lanky, with a mop of short, messy black hair, framed his lean looking face, containing thoughtful gray eyes.

He was currently reading an online gaming magazine profiling Kayaba Akihiko, Manager of the 3rd Development Branch of Argus Technologies, and the upcoming release of a landmark in gaming history. The first ever Full-Dive Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online roleplaying game, Sword Art Online, and the system it would play on, the Nerve Gear.

A helmet covered the entire head with a visor coming down over the user's eyes, The Nerve Gear containing a series of high-density microwave transceivers that sent signals to all five senses of the user, hence the term "Full-Dive." It was equipped with a next-generation diamond semiconductor central processing unit.

Kazuto was completely lost in the article. An avid gamer and computer programmer himself, he had seen the potential in virtual technology, and what future applications it could have. "The possibilities are just endless!" He said to himself. "Kayaya is an absolute genius."

"Hey, Kazuto. Do you have a minute?" Kirigaya Suguha,

Kazuto's little sister asked. Sugu, as she was called by those close to her, would be considered cute by many. Her chin length dark hair was held back by four stainless steel barrettes, framing a pair of bluish-gray eyes that held a playful air about them. But the defined muscles on her arms and legs betrayed her childish looks.

Kazuto froze up, suddenly finding the grain of the dining room table to be the most interesting thing in the world. "Uh, you're going to have to excuse me, Sugu. But I have some homework I need to catch up on. I'll talk to you later." With that, he quickly scrambled up to the steps, but Suguha tried to grab onto his arm.

"Wait just a second, now Kazuto! You can't take five minutes to talk to your own sister?" He jerked his arm, sending her back a little. Kazuto gave an apologetic expression to her, opening his mouth before a minute before running up to his bedroom. She put her hands on her hips. Her face became sad, eyes beginning to water. "Why is it that he always gets so cold when I'm around? Doesn't he care about me anymore?"

In the darkened confines of his room, Kazuto crashed on his bed. "Forgive me, Sugu." He clenched his fist. "I'm not really your brother. I don't know how to view you in that light. It makes me wish Mom hadn't said a word to me." It was a sad truth that he had learned five years ago, when he was just ten.

His aunt, Kirigaya Midori, had been an editor for a computer software magazine, and so encouraged her nephew/adoptive son's natural love for computers. But no one expected him to demonstrate such natural talent, building a computer from spare parts during elementary school. Despite the love he got from both Midori and her husband, Minetaka, Kazuto always suspected something was off.

So finally, he hacked into the Japanese National Registry itself, finding a copy of his birth certificate, showing that he had been adopted. His relationship with Suguha, once so close, deteriorated. Kazuto sighed, looking up at his ceiling. "I guess it's going to be one of those nights then." He sighed, resigned to not sleeping.

(Argus Industries, October 28th, 2022)

Yukimasa entered the rather innocuous skyscraper that served as the headquarters for Argus Industries' 3rd Technological branch. He had been called in for a meeting with the director. He made his way through the endless rows of cubicles. "Like a rat in a maze." He muttered, before finally reaching his destination.

Mishima Kenji's cubicle was a mess, as was common for him. Kenji was a young man with tanned skin. He was a big man in a little leather chair leaning over his keyboard like he was too big for this cubicle all together. He was a few years older than Yukimasa, but he was still one of the most talented programmers he'd ever known. That talent had gotten him a job with Argus even though he'd only started college recently. His rig occupied almost all of his desk space. Triple monitor set up, a high tower containing a quadruple core CPU. It almost made the entire cubical seem like it was bursting at the scenes with the addition of Yukimasa.

"Hey, Masa!" Kenji waved, looking up at him with his gleaming dark brown eyes. He was a man of Western features blended with mildly Asian ones accented by low cut head of mildly curly black hair. Yukimasa was sure he was part Nigerian. Although, he could hardly tell with all the outlandish claims his friend often made about being African royalty. Yukimasa was just glad he didn't ask for five hundred dollars in return for the investment in their friendship. He cracked a small grin, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed. "Glad you decided to come and visit us humble peons. I was starting to get bored staring at this screen."

He eyed the lines of code on the monitors. "What are you working on, anyway?"

Kenji grinned sheepishly. "The first new patch, I'm almost done with it. The big man has been really riding my ass about getting it done on time. Kayaba wants to meet the release date, no ifs, ands, or buts. He promised everyone Sword Art Online would come out on November 6th, and that's what's going to happen. So I'm really working my ass off." He sighed, slumping a little in his chair. "But enough about me, how are you?"

Yukimasa shrugged, "Oh, I'm good…I met a girl a few weeks ago at a party."

Kenji immediately sat bolt upright. "You met a girl? Hell man, you move quick! Considering you just dumped the last one?" He snickered a little. "Yurika would pitch a hella bad fit if she knew!"

The younger boy just shrugged. "Yurika was hardly my ideal lady, Ken. Yeah, she was hot, and had that fiery attitude I like." Yukimasa sighed, thinking of the first girlfriend he had when arriving in Japan. Hamashiro Yurika had been a striking creature, long, midnight black hair with a prominent white streak running through her bangs, fierce violet-colored eyes, and a mouth constantly pulled in a smug grin. "At the same time, she was so petty and shallow. That's not the type of woman I'd want to get into a long term relationship, much less marry."

He smiled, thinking about Asuna. He fondly recalled her beautiful smile when they sat on that balcony overlooking the skyline at night. She seemed to light up the city much more than any beacon could. "This girl is different Kenji. She's very gentle and kind, one of those sheltered types. But, if you look real close, there's a great inner strength inside. It just needed someone to pull it out of her."

Kenji grinned. "Does this girl of yours have a name?" He asked curiously.

"Asuna…Yuuki Asuna." Kenji's entire body locked up, nearly causing his chair to fall over, if Yukimasa hadn't grabbed onto the arm. "Sheesh, Kenji! You trying to hurt yourself?" He quipped. Kenji burst out laughing. "I fail to see what's so funny."

"Yuuki Asuna? As in, Yuuki Shouzou's daughter?" Kenji bent over, clutching his sides. Yukimasa failed to see what was so funny. He frowned a little bit.

"Well yeah, the party was set up by her family to welcome us to Japan in the first place." Yukimasa explained conversationally, his frown becoming a small smile. It had been a nice change from the misery he felt over his bad break up with his ex. "This creepy dude with a hair-sniffing fetish was harassing her, so I decided to step in. The two of us started dancing, we went out to the café at the hotel. We chatted for a while until Dad and I had to leave. Not to mention I saw her just a couple of days ago. We went out to dinner, it was really nice."

Kenji just shook his head in bemusement. It sounded a little too good to be true. "Only you could pull off a stunt like that!" He snorted, eying him dubiously. "Well, I guess you're going to have to introduce me to her then. Just to prove to me that you're really dating a Yuuki."

"I think that can be arranged. I'm going to be vindicated." Yukimasa smugly said. It was then they heard someone clearing their throat. Both men turned to see a tall, lanky man with short dark hair and steel gray eyes wearing a long white, labcoat over a simple white button-up shirt and dark pants leaning up against the cubicle wall. They both stood up a little straighter.

"I trust I'm not interrupting anything?" Kayaba Akihiko drawled.

"No sir, just catching up with an old friend!" Kenji barked. "The patch is almost done, and should be ready by tonight. I'll send it you the minute it's complete!"

Kayaba chuckled. Kenji had virtually been his right hand man since the whole endeavor started. "That's good, Mishima. I figured you would be ready." He directed his metallic gaze to Yukimasa, giving a warm smile. "I'm glad you're here as well. Come with me to my office. There are a few things I want to talk to you."

"Sure thing, big man." Yukimasa put his hands in his pockets, following him to a corner of the room, past all the cubicles to the office Kayaba kept as head of the development team. It was fairly modest, or would have been if not for the massive amount of papers and drawings that practically wallpapered the room. A very expensive computer sat on the right side of the desk.

"Have a seat." Kayaba motioned to the one of the chairs kept in front of his desk. "I'm glad you came around. It's always nice to get a visit from one of my favorite people in the world." He gazed at a picture on his bulletin board. "I still remember the day you drew that. I've kept it all these years. It's been a long road, but soon we will reach the end of the line."

"Yeah, just a few more short days." Yukimasa smiled fondly, recalling how he labored over the drawing. "The Black Steel Castle Aincrad, floating high in the sky. I still remember when you told me about your idea six years ago, and I drew that picture for you. Sword Art Online, your dream…our dream is about to become a reality."

Kayaba leaned back in his chair. "How long has it been since I fantasized about that castle in the sky? Even now I wonder if Aincrad really does exist in some distant corner of the universe. I know I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did without your inspiration, Yukimasa." He smirked a little. "Perhaps you would be willing to share a drink with me? I think that it's more than fitting for what've done thus far." He pulled out a bottom of bourbon and a pair of shot glasses.

"I'll be happy to, but don't give me too much." Yukimasa poured a small bit of the dark brown liquor into one of the glasses. "The last thing I want to do is to come home piss ass drunk. Mom would never let me hear the end of it."

Kayaba smirked, pouring his own glass. "Ah, speaking of which. Hitomi told me you managed to befriend a certain young woman. Kudos to you."

Yukimasa groaned. "Mom told you about that?"

"But of course, she is my sister, after all. I don't think I ever heard her so happy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's waiting for grandchildren." Kayaba delicately sipped at his drink. "Needless to say, I'm proud of you. Miss Yuuki is a striking young woman, and I think she's perfect for you." He leveled a knowing gaze at him. "Love is a very precious thing, it will sustain you in the future."

"Uh, yeah, whatever you say, Uncle Aki." Yukimasa said blandly. He held up his glass. "To Sword Art Online…and the future."

"To the future." Kayaba echoed. Their glasses clinked together. Yukimasa downed the small shot simultaneously with his uncle. The liquor burnt on the way down. He hadn't drunk it since the time he broke into his dad's liquor cabinet years ago. This time, he had a reason to be less guilty about it. It was one of those moments where he felt he was truly equals with the man he admired most. That, he thought, was the start of his perceived bright future.

(Yuuki Manor, November 6th, 2022)

Asuna was in her bedroom, lying on the bed. It was a dreary, cloudy day. It appeared the heavens could open up and begin pouring down rain at any moment. She thought the weather fit her mood perfectly, having just got into an argument with her mother about her grades, and how she needed to start thinking about college. "Can she just let up about it? I'm only 15. Do I really need to be focused on college right now?"

There was a knock at the door, "What is it now…" Asuna's words died on her tongue when she saw Kouichirou and Ayami standing at the door. She gasped.

"Hey, little sis! Surprised to see me?" He grinned, giving her a gentle hug before walking into his sister's room, taking a seat on the bed.

"Kouichirou, what you doing here?" Asuna couldn't believe her eyes. "I thought you had that business trip to go on."

Ayami sat down next to her sister in law. "It got cancelled at the last minute. As such, we got ourselves some unexpected free time." The older woman put an arm around her shoulders. "So we decided to spend it with you."

"Yeah, I got an earful from Mom just now." He scoffed. "Not my fault the trip got cancelled." Kouichirou patted her on the head. "Someone told me that I've put too much focus on my job as of late, and I needed to fix it." He looked to Ayami as he said those last words. "So…here I am. We got a treat as well, Asuna." Kouichirou reached into his bag, pulling out a strange looking helmet. "Tell me…how would you like to play a game?"

Asuna regarded the strange device in her brother's hands. "What kind of game?" She asked nervously.

"Oh trust me, it's unlike anything you've ever encountered before, Asuna." Kouichirou held it up, revealing the stylized 'Nerve Gear' printed on the front. "And I guarantee you probably never will again!"

Author's Notes: Oh if they only knew how! Yeah, this was a short chapter, but it's mostly just to set up for what's to come. Next time…onwards to Aincrad!


	3. The World of Swords and Spears

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Pale Wraith and Black Swordsman

By Storm Wolf77415 and Centurious the Azure

The World of Swords and Spears

(November 6th, 2022AD, Kirigaya Residence)

The rain was pouring down, beating against the roof and walls, but Kazuto wasn't paying any attention to that. His eyes were currently switching between the latest copy of his favorite gaming magazine and the multiple windows open on the triple screens of his computer. All about the same subject, the first ever Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, Sword Art Online, or SAO for short.

MMO Stream, and every gaming podcast across the world were harkening this revolution in gaming. Kazuto paged through the magazine, reading an article about the game's creator, Kayaba Akihiko. He checked his clock, currently reading 12:50pm. Ten minutes, six hundred seconds was all that remained before the start of service for the SAO servers. He looked to his bed, where his Nerve Gear and copy of the game were eagerly waiting.

A knocking came at the door. "Hey Bro. I'm off to practice!" Suguha called. The younger Kirigaya sibling sighed, certain that her words hadn't been heard, especially if her brother had his headphones on. She sighed, running out the door with her kendo gear slung on her back. Suguha couldn't have known that would be the last time she'd see her brother conscious for quite some time.

Switching off his computer, Kazuto began his final preparations. He took the game cartridge, putting it into his Nerve Gear. After making sure the system was plugged in, Kazuto laid down on his bed, placing the device on his head. He took a deep breath to steady himself, eyeing the clock projected on the visor that covered his eyes, reading 12:59, before clicking over to 13:00. Smirking, he uttered two words that would change his life forever. "Link Start!"

A kaleidoscope of light and color assaulted Kazuto's senses as the Nerve Gear activated, throwing him from the real world into a place beyond time and space. The select language screen came up, choosing Japanese, and then the login panel followed. The next screen flashed Character Creation. "Beta Test data still available. Would you like to use it?" He didn't need to think twice, clicking on yes.

The screen turned gray as the words. "Welcome to Sword Art Online" flashed in black text. Kazuto found himself falling through a pulsing blue tunnel of light before everything went white. Kirigaya Kazuto, now known as the online warrior, Kirito, looked around at his surroundings, the Village of Beginnings on Floor One of the Black Steel Castle, Aincrad. He gave a brief smile to no one in particular.

"I'm back!" was all the young man said.

On the other side of the village plaza three figures materialized in flashes of blue light. Kouichirou hefted his weapon of choice, a heavy spear paired with a circular bronze shield. Despite just being a virtual simulation, it all felt real enough to him. "All right, everything seems to be here. You guys got all your gear?" He remarked, finished looking over his equipment.

"You know it! I'm ready to bust some heads!" Ayami hefted her own weapon of choice, a large halberd with a curved blade. "What about you, Asuna?"

"Uh, yeah!" She said, nervously fiddling with the weapon she had picked, a rapier. Asuna felt completely out of her depth here. Her experience with games extended to playing Angry Birds on her phone. Still, when Kouichirou and Ayami had shown up, bringing with them a game called Sword Art Online, she decided to see what it was all about, if anything else she could just walk around and marvel at the environment. There was no denying how beautiful Aincrad was.

"So what should we do first? Pick up some quests?" Ayami asked.

"But I don't even know how to play the game!" Asuna protested. She didn't even have an idea of how the controls for the game worked or if there was anything special she had to do. Kouichirou just patted her on the shoulder.

"We can do that later. But I actually have a little surprise for my sister." Kouichirou gave a knowing smile. "You see there's someone that I was waiting for. He's been quite eager to party up with us. Without giving anything away, he's actually quite knowledgeable about the world we just entered. Isn't that right…Weiss?"

Asuna turned to see a young man walk up to them, hair white as fallen snow, eyes red as newly shed blood. He wore simple attire, pants and ankle high boots both deep brown, a short-sleeved shirt the same shade of red as his eyes under a light breastplate, not too dissimilar to what she and everyone else was currently wearing. A sheathed sword hung on his back. "Good day to you all." The man known as Weiss drawled, giving a deep, theatrical bow. He flashed a dashing smile to Asuna. "And a special hello to you, my dear." He gently kissed her hand.

It took Asuna a few minutes to register just who he was, but when she saw that big dopey grin, it was obvious. "Yukimasa?" She asked, taking a closer look at his face.

"None other! Although here, I'm known as Weiss Blutschnee." He gave her hand another kiss. "Your brother gave me a call a few days ago. We figured this would be a good way to keep in touch if you had to travel to Kyoto to spend some time with your grandparents." Yukimasa, nee Weiss said. "So…what do you think of Aincrad so far? It's quite the majestic setting isn't it?"

"Very much so! There's so much to take in." Asuna said, blushing slightly, to which her brother and sister in law began grinning a mile wide. She looked down at the ground, drawing circles with the toe of her boot. "Although…I'm still not quite sure exactly what I'm supposed to do here. My brother and Ayami are the gamers in the family."

"If you want, I can help you become familiar with the game. We still have some time before the opening ceremonies. There's a field not too far from here with some low level mobs that we can practice on." Weiss looked to Kou, "Provided big brother doesn't have a problem with that."

"Just don't take too long, okay?" Kouichirou said. "Ayami and I will stock up on items. How about we meet back here in about a hour?"

"Will do!" Weiss gave a jaunty salute, pulling Asuna by the arm toward the field outside the city. The sun began setting in the west as the young couple found a tranquil looking meadow, filled with what Asuna identified as boars. They were milling about, rooting away at the grass. "Okay, Asuna, we'll start with how to cast a sword skill." He drew his blade, a simple looking two-handed broadsword. "Watch me in action."

Weiss brought his weapon up, resting it lightly on his shoulder; Asuna noticed it began glowing a deep blue color. He lunged forward at the nearest boar, with a single vertical slash it was cut in half. The animal let out a pained cry before glowing blue and vanishing in a shower of light. "That's all there is to it! You make the appropriate Pre-Motion, the system recognizes it, and then can act. But beware, once you've performed that skill, there's a cool down period called Post-Motion that can leave you vulnerable to counter attacks. The stronger the Sword Skill, the longer the Post-Motion."

"Okay, so what do I do first?" Asuna said, drawing her rapier as she zeroed in on one of the boars. She gasped when Weiss put his hands on her shoulders.

"Since you chose to use a rapier, your first Skill will be called Linear. It's single thrust straight forward. You trigger it by holding your blade in front of your body, and adding a slight twist at the end. Hold it up near your shoulder. Wait for the system to register it." He brought Asuna's arm up to her shoulder. Her blade began glowing a brilliant silver-white. "Okay, your skill is charged, go now!" Mimicking her companion's movement, the younger of the Yuuki siblings lunged, delivering a picture perfect thrust straight to the boar's neck.

She reeled back, watching for when she could attack again. Asuna was surprised when her body suddenly relaxed. "Hit it again, Asuna!" Weiss called. Repeating the movement, She thrusted again, the boar squealed once before dissipating in shattered panes of bluish-green light.

"Nice job, Asuna!" Weiss cheered as she sank to her knees. "Not bad for a first time!"

"I was expecting the cooldown period, but it was virtually nothing!" Asuna said.

"That's to be expected since Linear is the first skill in the Rapier move tree. A skilled player can chain multiple Linear strikes in a very short amount of time. You're still beginning, but I bet you can get off four or five a minute once you've gotten some experience under your belt." He indicated to the remaining boars. "Come on, let's work on improving your attack time."

As Asuna began acclimating to the battle system, she proved to be quite handy with the Linear skill, Weiss was entranced by watching as she wove in and out of the mob creatures. Her movements were fluid and graceful, each flowing into the next as she struck each boar with a series of rapid thrusts, her strawberry-blonde hair whipping about her. To Weiss, he was bearing witness to a warrior goddess.

Eventually she stood triumphant. "Well…how did I do?" Asuna panted, sinking to her knees. She hadn't expected to be so exhausted from a playing a video game.

Weiss ran over to her, putting his arms around her neck, eliciting a startled gasp from her, causing her to start blushing. "That was just incredible! You gave those oversized porkers a true royal smackdown!" He grinned wide. "The way you moved was just pure poetry! How did you do it?"

Her blush grew even more. "Twelve years of dance classes, I started when I was three. I guess I just slipped into the mindset once I got comfortable."

"Well, it paid off! You're going to be a terror once you get some real experience under your belt!" Weiss patted her on the shoulder. He checked the time. "Hmm, The opening ceremonies will be in another ten minutes. We should probably head back so your brother doesn't get too worried." The two walked back to the Village of Beginnings, coming over a large hill. Asuna gazed in awe at the landscape, at the sloping hills running all the way to the horizon.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Weiss remarked in a quiet voice. "It's one thing to see it in your mind, but it's a whole different beast when it's right in front of you." He put his hands behind his head. "Even if it is just a virtual representation, there's a certain majesty to this place that never fails to take my breath away. Of course, considering I designed it I'm just a little biased." Asuna's head whipped toward him. "Oh…I guess I should have said that earlier."

"You…designed this?" Asuna couldn't believe her ears.

"I didn't stutter." He pulled her in close. "I'll level with you, Asuna. Kayaba Akihiko is my mom's younger brother, simply put, my maternal uncle. Sword Art Online has been his life's work since even before I came on the scene. Whenever he'd come and visit us in San Diego, he'd tell me stories about the floating castle in the sky he envisioned, it was his dream. I wanted to help make his ambition a reality. So I became an artist. All the physical characteristics of the game, from the looks of the weapons and monsters, to the layout of each floor, everything came from my humble little noggin."

"I guess that explains how you knew where to teach me, you set it up that way." Asuna giggled. "I guess it's helpful that a newbie like me has such an experience teacher then."

"Well, I just thought it up, another guy handled the actual coding. His name is Ronan, you'll meet him later. I should warn you…he's a first class asshole." Weiss sighed. "Other than that, I think you'll come to enjoy the game, Asuna. My uncle and I put a lot of time and effort into it."

"It is quite beautiful. You have reason to be proud." Asuna said, leaning closer into Weiss. They came to sit on a big rock, and continued looking out onto the majestic scenery. He had an arm around her. Asuna didn't mind it. All she wanted to enjoy this peace forever.

A bell began ringing, the couple were suddenly surrounded in blue light. Their heads both peeked up at the noise. They found themselves back in the plaza with the other players. "What's going on here?" She asked nervously, as the sky suddenly turned red, her stomach turned a little as the sky seemed to begin oozing blood. Asuna found herself unconsciously grabbing onto Weiss's arm.

"Don't worry your pretty little head one bit." Weiss was completely unfazed. "That's probably my uncle. As the game's creator, he's also the Game Master." He shook his head bemusedly. "The man always had to make a flashy entrance. He's probably going to welcome everyone, say a few words about the incredible adventure we're embarking on. Once he's done we can do some more training. I'll make you into a gamer yet!"

The red oozed congealed, taking the form of a massive humanoid shape in a flowing red cloak; no face was visible underneath the hood. "Greetings to my fellow gamers! I am Kayaba Akihiko, and welcome to the floating Black Steel Castle of Aincrad. Let me be the first to introduce you to the world I created. The world of Sword Art Online!"

Asuna felt a little intimidated at the sight of the massive figure, but Weiss just snorted. "Typical of the man." He muttered. All of his bemusement vanished with the next words Kayaba uttered.

"I'm sure a few of you have noticed an item missing from the main menu…the log out button." A huge version of the menu materialized in front of the GM avatar. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect of the game. This is how Sword Art Online was meant to be played." This led to whispers and murmurs among the crowd as he continued. "Once you log into SAO there is no way out."

This caused gasps from the players, but the nightmare was only just beginning. "Despite my warning, the families of quite a few of the players tried removing the Nerve Gear." Kayaba's voice sounded almost remorseful. "That was a rather unfortunate decision on their part, as of now there are 213 less players than when the game started. They've been deleted from Aincrad…and the real world."

The players were starting to panic now. Kirito stood alongside his new friend Klein. "213 players? That many?" he didn't want to believe this was happening.

"This is crazy! I don't believe it!" Klein protested.

"Kou…" Ayami whispered, fingers gripping around her halberd. Her husband said nothing, just settling for glaring up at their captor.

Kayaba continued, not regarding what his victims were saying or feeling. "International media outlets have already begun picking up the details, including the deaths. As such, the chance of Nerve Gear removal is minimal at best." Images began materializing in the air, showing such headlines as 'Death Count Rises in Online-Game Incident'. "I hope this gives you comfort as you clear the game. You will need every inch of resolve you can muster."

"Keep in mind that any and all revival items in the game have now been removed. If you HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system…forever, and the Nerve Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain, ending your life in the real world as well. There's only way for you to escape this place now. You must clear the game."

With this a screen showing a schematic of Aincrad appeared. "All of you are gathered here on Floor One. Getting through the dungeon and defeating the boss will allow you to advance to the next level. Defeating the boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game."

Everyone began protesting again. "Clear the game? That's impossible! Not even the Beta Testers got that high!" Klein exclaimed. Both Kirito and Kouichirou clenched their fists in silent rage. It had taken them almost the entire beta period just to get up to the tenth floor. How did Kayaba expect them to make it all the way to the top?

"Uncle what have you done?" Weiss muttered, he looked over to Asuna, who was on the verge of tears. He put his arm around her waist, causing to her to look at him. His gaze was enough to reassure her.

"One final thing, I have left each of you a little present in your item storage. Please inspect it now." All the players opened their menus to find what appeared to be a simple mirror. No one was sure what to make of it, but then everyone began glowing. When the light dimmed, it revealed a startling fact. The mirror had stripped away the false avatars most of the players had created, reforming them to resemble their actual self. For Kouichirou, Ayami, and Asuna, this was no big deal, they had pattered their avatars after their normal appearance, but a few found themselves needing a drink, or the virtual equivalent at least.

"What can Kayaba hope to accomplish by this, Kou?" Ayami whispered. "It makes no sense at all! It's crazy! This is outright lunacy! This is…" she clapped her hands on her mouth, once she realized what she had done, as her husband gave a goofy grin.

"This! Is! Aincrad!" He called out with his best Scottish accent. Ayami groaned cupping her face in her hands while Kouichirou patted his wife on the back. "I'm sorry, my dear. You walked right into that one." His face immediately turned serious, "However, this is really not the time for laughs." He looked around at everyone, it was just now becoming apparent that their situation was real, and this was not a bad dream they could wake up from, or just a game they could turn off. Several of the players, male and female alike were crying their eyes out, others just stood or sat in dumbstruck silence.

The married couple was about to make their way through the crowd when the cloaked figure hovering over them began speaking again. "I'm certain many of you are wondering, why would Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of Sword Art Online and Nerve Gear do such a thing? My goal was very simple…to create a world that I and I alone could control. Now I can say that my goal is complete. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch for Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you all the best of luck." With that, the hovering figure faded into red smoke, dissolving back into the sky, leaving the setting sun in its place.

"We need to find Asuna and Weiss, now!" Kouichirou said. It wasn't long before they found them. Asuna was clinging onto Weiss. "Asuna!" He called out, it wasn't long before a white and red missile hit him, as his little sister cried into his shoulder. Kou ran his hands through her hair, as he often did when they were younger. "It's going to be okay, Asuna. We're going to get through this together. I promise you that!"

(Horunka Village, November 8th, 2022 AD)

Once Kayaba had departed, Kirito hadn't wasted any time in leaving for the next village. He knew every second counted in beginning to clear the game, even inviting Klein to go with him, but the bandana-toting player had declined, saying he wanted to join his friends and form a guild. So the dark-haired youth set out alone. He had made a promise to himself…to survive the game. After completing his first quest, he was already at Level 4, with a new weapon in the form of an Anneal Blade.

Kirito looked over his newly bought equipment. He sighed, it was going to be a long trip to the next village. Once he had checked all of his items, it was time to head out. Despite being a virtual environment, all being generated by a computer, he couldn't help but feel a slight chill from the wind blowing through. "Maybe I should invest in a coat of some kind." He said to no one in particular, gazing out on the long road ahead of him, looking for some mobs.

The journey was starting to become rather dull. Kirito picked up a rock, throwing it into a nearby stream. He watched the ripples spread on the water. It was then he heard a howl, hand instinctively going for his sword. "Wolves nearby. I guess I can get in a little extra XP before I camp for the night." He took off toward the source of the howl, jumping off rocks and over logs.

Kirito could tell he was getting closer as the howls and barking intensified. "Somebody help me!" A voice, definitively female cried out. He picked up speed, hoping he wasn't too late. He found a young woman about his age, facing off against a pack of wolves, about ten in number. Kirito didn't waste any time leaping in to help, priming his blade with the tell tale blue glint of a Slant skill. He swung from bottom left to top right in a 45-degree angle, cleaving a wolf in half.

He was able to get his first real good look at his new companion. She had a slender build; short dark hair framed a solemn looking face. Her attire was colored a deep forest green. A black top and shorts underneath, a pair of daggers clenched in her hands. "Hey, you all right?" He called out to the girl, who gave him a brief nod. "Okay, let's clear these mobs out. You with me?"

Her only response was to raise her daggers, they both turned blue as she unleashed a pair of Horizontal slash skills, that cut through another of the wolves. She spun in a circle, going for a double Slant strike, taking it out with the obligatory shower of blue sparkles.

Kirito fired up a Vertical skill, chaining it with a pair of Horizontals, taking out another wolf, and severely injuring another. He finished with an Uppercut, eyes flickering over to his impromptu partner, who let loose with a quick stabbing motion into the monster's side. The wolf snarled, going to bite her, but she vaulted over it, lashing out with her daggers to cut the beast's head off.

The two warriors stood back to back, surrounded by the remaining seven wolves. "It looks like we're surrounded." The girl said, looking at Kirito. I take half, you take half?"

"Fine by me." The young swordsman said, bringing up the Anneal Blade. "I'm Kirito by the way."

"Sinon," Was the girl's prompt response, hefting her daggers as she glared at the nearest wolf who growled before attacking. Sinon lashed out with her dagger, stabbing in the shoulder, before kicking the beast in the face, finishing by slashing through the neck with her other knife. Another wolf lunged about to get her in the side, only for Kirito's sword to intercept it.

"Now!" He cried, giving her the opening she needed, one of her knives glinted in the setting sun, before destroying it. Kirito's blade swept through another. Three more wolves attacked together this time. Kirito and Sinon moved as one, one dagger swept through all three of the beasts, followed by the Anneal Blade, finally ending with Sinon's other knife, all three beasts popped into those now familiar blue-green sparkles. The remaining two wolves ran off, leaving the players alone.

The menu came up, indicating that Kirito now was up to Level 5. "All right, I leveled up." He looked to his new partner. "What about you…Sinon was it?"

"Yeah. I made Level 4 just now." She said, checking her own menu. Sinon fidgeted nervously. "Uh, thanks for saving my life. I had already managed to kill three of those wolves, but then a few more spawned." She kicked the ground. "I thought I could get through the next area with no problems, guess not. "

"It's not a problem." He said. "Tell you what, it may not be a bad idea for us to team up. We'll stand a better chance of getting to the next village working together." The message for a party invite sprang up in front of Sinon. "What do you say?"

Sinon regarded it for a few minutes, before hitting the accept button. "Why not? I'd rather not have to run into that situation again." She said, smiling a little. Kirito couldn't help but find it kind of cute. "So, shall we get going onto the next town?"

"It's getting late as is, our best chance is to just set up camp." Kirito said. Thinking he may have found a suitable partner for the foreseeable future.

(Town of Beginnings, November 8th, 2022AD)

After Kayaba's announcement had effectively trapped everyone in the game until it was cleared, many had taken the news badly. Asuna had fallen into a deep depression, locking herself in the room she and Ayami shared at the local inn. Not even her brother had managed to get her to come out. But now she had gotten tired of looking at the stark walls of her quarters and ventured out, going from one stall to another.

"I'm telling you, it's real! There's a way out of the game!" Asuna stopped in her tracks with those words. She looked over her shoulder to see a couple of guys, one wielding an axe, the other a spear like her brother talking. "There's supposedly a portal in a dungeon not too far from here. If we can find it, then we're home free!" It was all Asuna needed to hear, she took off out of the town into the fields, where she knew Kouichirou, Ayami, and Weiss were currently leveling up.

"Weiss! Ayami! Brother!" Asuna called out, looking across the grassy fields. "Oh where are they?" She stamped her foot in frustration. It was then she heard a low growling. A trembling hand went for the rapier at her side. It was then a Basic Kobold Warrior lumbered from the brush, letting out a small roar. She whimpered. This thing was Level 7, and she was still at Level 2. She went for a Linear, only to get batted aside effortlessly. The Kobold growled, charging up its axe to cleave Asuna in two.

"Get away from my sister!" A voice rang out, Kouichirou leapt from on high, spear flashing with a yellow glow, stabbing the monster in the back. Ayami then appeared, her halberd beginning to flare with a reddish-orange light. She put a spin on her attack, giving her an extra boost of power, slashing across the Kobold. Weiss then appeared, finishing it off with a powerful slash. The monster roared before vanishing.

"Asuna? What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Ayami swept up her sister in law in a tight hug. "You're still only Level 2. That thing could have killed you!"

"I'm sorry." Asuna managed, pushing away from Ayami a little, feeling bad she had caused the others to worry about her. "But I heard something in town and I needed to tell you guys right away." She took a deep breath. "I think we may have found a way out of the game! A couple of guys were talking about it."

"Are you…sure about that, Asuna?" Weiss asked dubiously. "Where exactly did you hear about it?"

"They said it was in a dungeon not too far from here. If we go now, maybe we can find the way out and go home!" Asuna said. "Come on you guys, we can't waste a single minute!" Weiss could see there was a new fire in her eyes, however it would have to be short lived.

"Uh, I hate to break it to you, Asuna. But I think you're chasing a rumor. I think I know which dungeon you're talking about…we cleared it out yesterday and we didn't see any portal." Weiss had to do everything in his power to keep a straight face as he watched Asuna's newly found hope shatter once again. "On the plus side I found this really nice cloak in the dungeon." He opened up his menu. "I'll trade it…it's red."

Asuna sniffled, bringing up her own menu. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"You can have it. I don't need it." He said. Asuna hit the approve button. With a flash, she now wore a flowing cloak colored a brilliant dark red. It fluttered in the breeze in concert with her long chestnut red-brown hair. "It looks nice on you, Asuna."

"Yeah it really does." Ayami added, elbowing her husband in the side.

"Totally agree, sis!" Kouichirou said, giving her a little hug. "Don't worry, Asuna. We're going to get through this together. Do you believe in me?" He asked, to which she nodded. "Good, now let's get back to town. We'll get you leveled up and then we're heading out. If clearing the game is the only way we're going to be able to go back to the real world. We need to start now."

"Just make sure you don't go off by yourself in the future, Asuna." Weiss patted his girlfriend on the shoulder, taking in her soft brown eyes. "I wouldn't to have to explain to your brother why you're dead."

"So here you guys are." A voice said. "I wasn't aware the middle of the field was the new appointed meeting place for us."

Weiss sighed. "Hello Ronan…" He addressed the person approaching then. A large two-handed sword slung over his back. "Guys, let me introduce you to my friend, Mishima Kenji, aka Ronan. He's the lead programmer of Sword Art Online, pretty much Kayaba's right hand man." He glared at him slightly. "Not to mention kind of an annoying dick at times!"

Ronan just held his hands in his pockets. "Aw, you flatter me, Snow White. Glad to know I can still get that kind of reaction out of you." He smirked at Asuna. "So this is the Yuuki girl huh? Well I gotta say, she's not bad on the eyes." His expression changed, and he burst out laughing once he got a clear look at Asuna's stats. "Oh my…you're only Level 2? I thought you said she was smart, man!" He did his best to stifle his laughter, which wasn't much. "No one with two brain cells would come out this far into the field at that level!"

"Go easy on her, man. She's still new at this." Weiss stood up in her defense. He glared at Ronan, and he pouted in response. His shoulders slumping told he was surrendering for now. "So what's going on, Ronan? What's the word? I take it the little venture we discussed earlier is going smoothly?" This elicited confused looks from everyone. This was all news to them.

Ronan folded his arms, a smug grin on his face that for some reason made Kouichirou want to slam the butt of his spear in his face. "But of course! In fact I was just coming to see you about that. Here he comes now." Everyone turned to see a young man approaching. He was clad in blue with a medium sized armor chest plate with a kite shield and one-handed longsword approach. "Diabel, my main man! Welcome to the party!"

"Glad to be here." The man identified as Diabel spoke in a cultured voice. "Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am Diabel." He turned his eyes on Ayami and Asuna, visibly turning on the charm. His gaze swept between them both. His blue eyes glinted. He nodded at them in satisfaction as he ran his fingers through his sky blue hair. "Well, it seems that I'm graced by the presence of a pair of angels. Perhaps you can tell me your names?"

"This is Asuna, that gentleman over there is her older brother, and I'm her sister-in-law, We're both spoken for. So don't even think about it, Romeo." Ayami glared at him, putting herself between Asuna and Diabel. Yukimasa's eyes narrowed on Ronan's friend. They picked him for…certain reasons. He was not going to tolerate this kind of talk to Asuna regardless.

Diabel held his hands up defensively. "Oh I wouldn't dream of coming between you and your men, but certainly you could at least let me spend a little time with such gorgeous women such as yourselves? I have quite a few stories to tell that would enchant you." Ayami looked to Kouichirou, who gave an idle shrug.

Yukimasa didn't need to say anything. He walked up to Asuna, and put an arm around her. Asuna looked up at him, a smile manifesting on her lips. She leaned herself into Yukimasa to make it ever clear she was taken. Ayami was going to do all of the talking for them.

"No funny stuff…especially with the young lady. Otherwise you'll be answering to my husband, and let me tell you, that spear and shield aren't just for show. Provided I don't do anything first." Ayami said, fingers gripping on her halberd. Diabel gave a nervous chuckle, finding out first hand why Yuuki Ayami wasn't someone to trifle with.

Satisfied that his wife had things under control, Kouichirou pried Weiss off of Asuna, grabbing both him and Ronan by the arms. He waved Asuna off, wordlessly telling her to not be concerned. He blew Asuna kiss. Asuna flared up a shade of pink as she felt his invisible kiss her in the heart. "Can I talk with you guys…alone?" He dragged the other two boys away, making sure to keep Diabel in his line of sight. "Just what kind of game are the two of you guys playing here? Who is this guy?"

"That's simple, Kou. We're playing the most important game of all…survival!" Weiss whispered, looking back at Asuna over his shoulder. Inside of him, his heart sank into his stomach. If they weren't there at the right time… Weiss dreaded to think what would have happened to Asuna. This simply proved his first instinct to be right. "Everyone is still coming to terms with our situation. Someone needs to take charge so we can begin clearing the game. We can be those people! Because I sure don't want to trust my life to someone else, I can't imagine you would entrust Asuna and Ayami's lives to someone who would just so casually discard them if they weren't useful."

"But why bring this Diabel character into the mix? Do we really need him?" Kouichirou watched out of the corner of his eye, as Diabel began telling the girls a lame story of a difficult monster fight he had made on the day after the announcement of the death game that Sword Art Online had become. Both Ayami and Asuna looked less than impressed judging from their bored expressions.

"Every movement has their public face, Big K. A charismatic figure for the people to rally around." Ronan said matter of factly, putting a hand on his hip. He held his other hand up as if to display the truth in the palm of his hand. "Diabel is charming, he's good looking, not to mention genuinely skilled. The people will flock to him while we control things behind the scenes. Of course we'll conveniently leave out that he's a beta tester. I've been hearing rumors that a small group of the players are ganging up on the betas, blaming them for being trapped here on the grounds they have an unfair advantage."

"Then they wouldn't like me…I'm a beta tester too." Kouichirou said.

"You were a beta tester as well? Huh. I didn't know that." Weiss blandly, shrugging at the unsurprising revelation. He quickly turned all business, his expression becoming uncharacteristically solemn. "Here is the bottom line, Kou. We have a chance to make something of ourselves in this world. We need every able-bodied player we can get to clear the game. Could we count on you to help us out?"

"All you needed to do was ask." Kouichirou looked to the two most important women in his life. "So if you really intend to be a driving force in getting us out of here, what exactly is your plan? I get Diabel is your rallying point, but is that all you came up with?"

"But of course not." Weiss produced an innocuous looking brown book with a quick swipe of his hotkey. It manifested in his hands with the swirl of blue particles. He held it up for the man to see. "This is a strategy guide Ronan and I created with another beta tester named Argo. She's the go to person for information about the game. The objective here is to share our knowledge with the other players, showing we're not going to hoard it, as others would have you believe."

Kouichirou nodded in approval. "A smart move. I'll want three copies the first chance they've available."

"We've arranged to have them available in all the shops on every floor. But since you asked. I'll make sure to reserve three especially for you." Weiss said. He and Kouichirou shook hands. "Thanks for joining the cause, Kou. We're going to need every advantage we can get."

Ronan put his hand on top of theirs. Weiss looked at Ronan like he'd grown another head. "Hey," he put in, sounding annoyed. "Don't forget me. I came up with this idea. As much as I hate to admit it, this is a team effort, dude."

"Point." Weiss admitted, starring back at Asuna talking to Ayami in the distance. Diabel was already making friends with them. It was typical of him to get them to warm up to him quickly.

Weiss steeled himself for the future. It was all for Asuna…

(A couple nights later)

Asuna and Yukimasa had spent the last few days power leveling in the fields and in a dungeon, as of now the younger Yuuki sibling had managed to make it to Level 5, so she would be more capable of defending herself when she wasn't with someone else. She had even managed to get lucky getting a rare Wind Fleuret from a monster drop. But now all Asuna wanted to do after a long day of training was to rest. The minute they returned to the Inn, she had gotten into the bathtub.

The light from the overhead lamp reflected off the water. Asuna idly watched her long strawberry blonde tresses undulating, moving with the currents. She sighed contentedly, immersing herself completely before coming right back up. "Even though this isn't real, I can still feel all the aches and pains in my body. It makes me wonder what is happening with my body in the real world right now."

She frowned when she thought of the real world. It had been almost a whole week since the whole mess started, but Asuna wondered what was going on back home. "Daddy's probably using every one of the company's to try and get us out. Not to mention Mom and Sugou…" She trailed off at the latter, shuddering all over. "Ugh, why am I thinking about him?" She folded her arms across her chest, before submerging once again. Asuna curled up in the bath. She instead tried to fill her mind with thoughts of Yukimasa. And what she'd rather with doing with him…

"No, no, and once again No! I refuse to do it, Ronan!" Weiss protested. The two boys were outside Asuna's bedroom. "Despite what you may think. She has a temper on her, and not to mention what her brother and his wife would do to us! I do not have a death wish!"

"Oh come on, my white haired friend, live a little!" Ronan urged. "Your girl is in there waiting for you. She's waiting for you to show up, man. I know you aren't that dense. If you two are really as close as you say, then it's time for you to go and do the nasty!"

"She's not that type of girl, Ronan!" Weiss looked away.

Ronan smirked, seeing the blush forming on his cheeks. "Oh don't even try that with me. She may be a prude, but she's still a girl with very human needs. It just takes some time for her to admit it." He gave a perverted grin. "I imagine that Asuna has a very nice body underneath that armor. You'd get to see it in all its glory! And I'll bet Yen to Col that she's a screamer!"

Weiss's eye twitched, fist clenching and unclenching. "I'm going to count to ten, Ronan. I suggest you leave right now before I decide to do something I regret."

"Just knock already!" Ronan urged, holding up his hands in surrender. He rounded the corner, and pressed his back against the wall. He peeked around the corner. Nobody told him he couldn't watch this part.

Weiss tensed, praying Kouichirou didn't come around the corner suddenly. He tentatively knocked on the door. "Hey Asuna…you presentable?" He asked nervously. The sound of footsteps against the wooden floor got louder as the door opened, showing his girlfriend in a pale blue bathrobe. "Oh, sorry about getting you out of the tub." He noted at her dripping hair.

"It's all right, what did you need?" Asuna asked quietly, hoping Kou wasn't there to catch them. She unobtrusively ushered him in, and closed the door behind them.

"Just checking in is all. I have to say you really have taken to the game. I don't think I've seen a more graceful player in action." Weiss grinned inside at the sight of Asuna's blushing cheeks. "Those dance classes definitely paid off if what I've seen over the past few days are any indication."

"Once I saw things as a dance, it became a lot easier, I just had to add the sword in." Asuna admitted, sitting down on the bed. Yukimasa sat down, putting an arm around her slender waist.

"Tell you what, let's stop dancing around the issue, Asuna. I like you." He finally came out and said it, watching as her face became ever brighter. "And I'm fairly certain you like me, judging from your reaction. I felt the connection when we first met at that party way back when. You looked like a girl who needed a serious injection of fun into her life. I just didn't think it would be like this." He ran his hand through his hair, "I was actually going to ask you out to a concert. Your brother said you liked TM Revolution, so I got us tickets, front row center even. It would have been a blast."

Asuna's brown eyes widened. "Really? That would have been a lot of fun. I've never been to a concert before in my life." She sighed, leaning on his shoulder. At least having him was a great consolation. "I guess that's not going to happen now, huh? It's not like we can leave this place any time soon."

Weiss nodded in sober agreement. It belied the silly grin on his lips. "Our situation is certainly…unique to say the least. How often do you get caught in games of death? If I could pull the right strings, maybe we could get TM Revolution to visit Aincrad and give a special concert." He frowned. "But then he'd be trapped here as well and that would really suck. He seems like a nice enough guy, and he doesn't need to be inconvenienced like that. I guess we could go for Hatsune Miku or Super Sonico then, they already exist in the digital world."

Asuna giggled, "If you really are serious, then perhaps…" She blushed once again, the brightest yet. Weiss was totally taken by her radiance. Asuna looked down into her lap. She gathered the courage to say it within that eternal pause. She looked Weiss in the eye, struggling to hold his gaze. She felt the heat creeping onto her face. "We could take a bath together? I mean…if that's okay with you." He ran his hand through her still soaked locks. He picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom.

"Whatever my lady wants, she will get." Weiss ran a hand along her delicate cheek. "I bet you never thought your first time would be in a bathtub in a video game. It's just a string of constant firsts I guess." Asuna giggled as the couple went in, the door banging shut behind them.

(Tolbana Village, December 2nd, 2022)

No one had expected clearing the game to go smoothly, but the first sixty days had shown just how large of a task awaited. Two thousand players were dead, and the First Floor Boss hadn't even been found yet. A few brave souls dared venture into the labyrinth, but they were lucky if they returned. Kirito and Sinon had mostly busied themselves taking quests and fighting the various mobs they ran across. They were stopping over in Tolbana Village for a short respite to replenish their store of items and crystals.

They walked through the streets, noting the large gathering of players. The entire village was overflowing with people "There's a lot of activity here for such a small village. I wonder what's going on." Sinon remarked.

"You haven't heard?" They turned to see Kouichirou leaning against the wall. "Someone finally found the lair of the First Floor Boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. We're rallying every player we can find in order to take it on. You two look fairly strong. How about lending a hand?" He held his hand out. "The name's Kou, and you are?"

"Kirito, and this is Sinon." He jerked a thumb at his companion. "So you really found the Boss Room?"

"Yeah, I wish it could have been sooner. We could have saved a lot more lives." Kou looked a little sad. It didn't bode well that twenty percent of the players were already gone, but he quickly put on the air of the businessman he was back in the real world. He had agreed to join Weiss and Ronan's group, and he couldn't show weakness for long. "The briefing is going to be at the amphitheater on the other side of town in fifteen minutes. I suggest you take this time to stock on items."

"Already taken care of." Sinon said.

"Good, I'll see you then." Kou walked off.

"Hey, Ki-bou." A salty voice went, causing Sinon to jump slightly, her hand immediately going for her daggers, but Kirito pushed her arm down. They found a young woman their age standing behind them, brown eyes framed by curly auburn hair danced in amusement from the depths of the brown hooded cloak she wore. "Wow, that's quite the reception." She gave a smirk, putting a hand on her hip as the sun accentuated the blood red whiskers on her face.

"Hello, Argo. Being sneaky as ever I see." Kirito said. He put a reassuring hand on Sinon's shoulder. "You'll have to excuse Argo, Sinon. She has a bad habit of showing up when you least expect it. But she makes up for it by her information always being accurate."

Argo just snickered. "They call me 'The Rat' for a reason, Ki-bou. Given what I do for a living, you can never be too careful. I maxed out my stealth skill given how a lot of people rage against the beta testers. Although you're one of the few who can sniff me out, given that your sensing skill is so high. You're like my favorite bloodhound."

"I really wish you'd cut that out. You're not Ada Wong, coming and going as you please." Sinon grunted. But it only made Argo's smug grin grow wider. Her fingers twitched idly over her sheathed blades. "Be lucky you're a friend of Kirito, otherwise I'd kick your teeth in." She muttered. Her companion cut in, not wanting it to degrade into a catfight.

"What do you need, Argo? You don't come around like this unless you need something." Kirito asked.

"You know me so well, Ki-bou. It has to do with the buyer for that pretty blade currently on your back." It all came back to Kirito then. A week prior Argo had sought him out, saying someone wanted to buy his Anneal Blade, since upgraded to a level 6 weapon. "I don't need to remind you of this, but he's offering a very nice little penny for taking it off your hands. He's getting tired of waiting."

Sinon's elegant face scrunched off. "I don't get why he's going so hard to remain anonymous. Is it that difficult to just come forward and ask for it?" She leaned in close to Kirito, ignoring the smug grin from Argo. "I don't know about you, Kirito, but I don't like this one bit. If I was you, I'd tell this mysterious buyer thanks, but no thanks."

The young swordsman contemplated it. "Tell the buyer I'll pass, Argo. I'm perfectly happy with my Anneal Blade." The info broker just gave a dismissive shrug.

"Doesn't bother me. I'm just the go-between after all." Argo gave a jaunty wave. "I'll catch you around, Ki-bou. Good luck with the floor boss. Hope you and your girlfriend enjoy your date!" Sinon reached for her daggers, but Argo was already gone by the time the knives came out.

"She really gets on my nerves at time!" Sinon huffed. Kirito put a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Let's just go to this briefing. The sooner we learn about the boss, the sooner we can kill it and go home." She stalked off for the amphitheater, Kirito following behind. He had learned early on to give his partner a wide berth when she was aggravated, made things less painful that way.


	4. Boss Fight

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

The Pale Wraith and the Black Swordsman

By Centurious the Azure and Storm Wolf77415

Boss Fight

(December 2nd, 2022 AD, Tolbana Village Amphitheater)

Kirito and Sinon took in their surroundings. There were about forty people composing this raid group, all equipped with a wide variety of weapons, swords, spears, daggers, and everything else in between. They took a seat on one of the top tiers of the concrete bleachers. "It looks like there's a pretty good turn out here." Kirito remarked.

"I hope these people know what they're doing." Sinon muttered. "I don't intend to die just when we're finally getting started."

It wasn't long before Diabel walked onto the stage, flanked by Weiss and Ronan. "All right, are we all here?" Weiss asked. "My name is Weiss, and the chucklehead next to me is Ronan. We want to thank everyone here for coming to this little get together. Then if that's the case, we can get down to business. My associate here will give you the details." He gestured to the blue clad swordsman. "Diabel, The stage is all yours."

"Greetings everyone. I am Diabel, and in the context of the game, the job I rolled is a knight!" He puffed out his chest a little bit, ignoring the comment that there were no specific job classes in Sword Art Online. His face suddenly became all business. "Here's the deal, our party found the boss room at the top of the labyrinth tower earlier today."

This got everyone talking. "That's right, boys and girls, we can finally take our first step to getting out of here." Weiss said. "Now it won't be an easy thing, but if we can accomplish this, and make it to Floor Two, then we can prove to everyone that we can beat this game, and show Kayaba Akihiko just what we really think of him!"

"It's our responsibility as the most capable players in the game to lead the charge and set everyone free from this nightmare world. I know everyone here agrees with me. When I say this." Diabel's gaze swept across the entire auditorium as he said these words, as if to drive the point home. Everyone started clapping and a few even whistled. Weiss and Ronan nodded in silent approval. They had made their case, and everyone was rallying behind them.

"Okay, now that we're all on the same page, our first order of business is to group up into parties of six. A normal party doesn't have a chance against the Boss, we'll need a raiding group consisting of multiple parties." Kirito and Sinon began looking around, and found themselves at a disadvantage. Most of the players were already beginning to party up, and the duo hadn't really taken much time to make friends.

They saw Kou sitting across the way, a young woman with black hair tied up in a ponytail sitting next to him. Kirito gently nudged Sinon in the side. "Hey, they don't look like they're partying up with anybody yet. How about we see if they're willing to join up? It's just for the raid." Sinon nodded, and the two slid down the bench.

"I take it you two are looking to party up?" Kouichirou asked, giving an inviting smile. "Come on, we're not with anybody yet either. The name's Kouichirou, this lovely lady right here is my wife, Ayami."

The woman named Ayami gave a slight nod, before going back to checking her halberd.

"Don't mind her, she's just getting focused for the mission to come." Kouichirou said, hand going to the spear and shield at his side.

"Thanks for welcoming us, I'm Kirito." The young sword wielder felt at ease around the spear user.

"Sinon." Was the dual dagger user's curt response. "So I guess we're partying up for right now?" Kou activated his menu, sending a party invite for both her and Kirito, both pushed the accept button and now four names and HP bars were at the top of everyone's screens. Diabel was about to give his next instruction when he was interrupted.

"Wait just a minute!" All of a sudden a figure appeared at the top of the amphitheater, leaping down the bleachers all the way to the stage. A man with orange hair wearing a light armor vest over a crème colored tunic and brown pants with a sword strapped on his back looked around with a disapproving sneer on his face. "The name's Kibaou! And before we get started, I have to get something off my chest!"

Everyone wasn't sure what to make of this new arrival, although Ayami did. "Hey Kou…look at the way that bozo down there has his hair styled." She held up a hand to muffle her laughter. "It makes him look like a porcupine or a hedgehog!" She wasn't wrong, Kibaou had styled his hair with lots of points.

Sinon did her best to cover her own snickering while Kirito and Kouichirou settled for just making smug faces while Kibaou launched into his rant. "We all known about the 2000 people who died, some of you need to apologize for them right now!" He pointed at the audience. "I know there are Beta Testers here! Why don't you step forward right now and admit it! Those people are dead because the Beta Testers took off and left us in the lurch! They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests!"

Kirito winced a little while Kouichirou just glared at Kibaou's words. "I say they apologize right now give up all the money and items they have! It's only fair that they pay us back!" Ronan and Weiss finally had enough of listening to him run his mouth.

"Why don't you get lost, Porcupine Head?" Ronan sneered. "Apparently you've had your head up your ass for the past month." He produced a small brown book. "See this, everyone? It's a strategy guide, and it happens to include tactics for taking down the floor boss. And do you want to know who helped create it?" Kibaou faltered under Ronan's hard glare. "That's right! The Beta Testers! It's made available to all players at every store in every town. Tell me…do you have happen to have one of these?"

"Uh…no!" Kibaou stuttered out. Ronan looked to Yukimasa, then back to the loudmouth, before winding up. The book flew across the stage, connecting square in the middle of his forehead. "Ow!" He screamed, grabbing at the sore spot, "What the hell was that for?"

"There, you can have that one free of charge!" Ronan stalked up, getting right in Kibaou's face while grabbing a fistful of his shirt. "It's clear you don't know what the fuck you're talking about, you walking hedgehog! So why don't you quit flapping your gums and let the people who actually know what they're doing take charge?" He tossed Kibaou to a tall black man with a shaved head and a large battle axe on his back. "Agil, kindly escort this asshole out of here! We don't need the likes of him cramping our style!"

Agil nodded, grabbing Kibaou out by the collar. But before he could take a step, Diabel grabbed onto his arm. "Please…there's no need for such hostility." He spoke in a diplomatic manner. "This kind of infighting will only hamper any attempts to clear the game. We need to make a unified front; otherwise we'll never get anywhere. I'm certain Kibaou here is the same as everyone else. He simply wishes to go home. We all do."

Everyone began talking amongst themselves. Ronan and Weiss exchanged a look, Diabel wasn't supposed to do something like this. The self-proclaimed knight held his hand out. "This isn't the time for a witch hunt. Please Kibaou, we need every able body for this. Will you help us out?"

Kibaou snorted, before taking Diabel's hand. "Fine…but only because you asked." He then stalked over to the closest bench and sat down, glowering. Diabel sighed and resumed speaking.

"With that out of the way, we'll get back to more pressing matters. Now that everyone is partied up, we'll get ready to face the boss." He opened the book. "According to the guide, the floor boss is named Illfang the Kobold Lord, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He has four HP bars, and is armed with an axe and buckler shield. When the last bar goes into the red, he'll switch over to a curved sword called a talwar. He can change his attack patterns as well."

"That's it for the briefing." Weiss said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "As for loot, all money will be distributed equally. The party that defeats the boss gets the XP, and if you get an item, you get to keep it. If you need to get any last minute potions and crystals, please do so now." His eyes flashing back to Diabel. "We'll reconvene at the door to the boss room in two hours. Good luck everyone!"

"Can we get a lunch break while we're at it?" Somebody shouted.

"Eat your Cheetos on your own fucking time!" Ronan grunted. "Class dismissed!" And with that the meeting broke up. Diabel was about to head out when he was grabbed by both arms. "And for you Mr. Knight. We need to talk!" And with that Ronan and Weiss dragged him behind one of the stores. "You have a lot to answer for pal!"

"What are you talking about?" Diabel was taken aback.

"Don't play innocent with us! We heard about your little scam to rip off one of the players to get his sword!" Weiss said, the shock was evident on the front man's face. "Did you think I don't know what goes on in my own organization? Argo told me everything. She may be known as the Rat, but she knows the value of trust…not to mention she likes me a whole lot more than you."

Diabel sputtered, unable to form words in his mouth, Weiss put his arm around his shoulder. He smiled slightly. There was plainly nothing happy in it. His voice, and his eyes were piercingly chilled like a Hokkaido winter. "Frankly, Diabel, you must be stupid to think I wouldn't get wind of this. Don't speak. Just listen. If you want the LA bonus, that's fine. Going behind my back isn't the way to do it. Neither is dragging your little friend in to discredit us. If you're work against us, you're working against yourself. I didn't bring you into this just to have you play the game against me. Diabel, if you wanna play the game with me. You'll lose. And you won't have anyone to appeal to dreams of grandeur after that. I'll make certain of that, trust me."

Diabel stood there frozen. The fear was clearly written on his face. His defeat was visible to everyone. Weiss simply clapped him on the shoulder, left him to stew over it. Weiss walked off with Ronan. A pleased smile was on both of their faces. That's simply how business was done.

(The Same Time)

Unbeknownst to Weiss and his cohorts, their conversation had been overheard. Argo and Asuna were both hiding around the corner. The rapier user had been surprised when the info broker had almost popped out of nowhere, grabbing onto her wrist. "Sorry about the rough treatment, princess, but there's something you need to see and hear."

Argo dragged Asuna back to the area where the boys had gone to speak. The Rat held a finger to her lips. "Don't say anything, just listen." Her voice dropped low as both Weiss and Ronan continued to tear into Diabel. "You've never seen this side of your man, have you?" Argo whispered, to which Asuna shook her head, a look of disproval in her eyes. "Judging from your reaction, it's nothing you're new to."

"My mother, she wasn't afraid to intimidate people when she had to." Asuna's eyes narrowed, recalling quite a few of Kyoko's shadier business deals, the total lack of empathy. "Why are you doing this?" She asked Argo.

"I'm doing this because you deserve to know." Argo put her hands behind her head. "Not going to lie, sweetie, but you're pretty much the first lady of this group. You don't strike me as the type to like being left in the dark. All of this…Weiss is doing it for you, Asuna. Because he genuinely wants to get you home alive." She smirked. "Not to mention he doesn't want to incur the wrath of your brother and his wife."

"Now you have a choice to make." She leaned in close, the shadows dancing on her brown eyes. "You can either ignore what you just heard…or stand by his side." Argo sauntered off. "Until next time, 'Suna. Keep those chuckleheads out of danger for me, will ya?" Asuna watched as the Rat disappeared around a corner.

With Argo gone, Asuna knew she had work of her own to do. She took a deep breath, going to where she knew Weiss was.

Weiss saw Asuna marching up. "What's up, sweetheart?" He asked.

"We need to talk…in private. Can we go back to the hotel?" Weiss felt uneasy at the neutral tone in Asuna's voice. He could tell straight away she was upset about something.

They arrived at the inn, going straight to Weiss's bedroom. "Is something wrong, dear? You've been rather tense lately."

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that." Asuna put her hand on her hips, and Weiss couldn't help but feel a chill going down his spine at the hard glare, making him think that maybe Asuna had more of Kyoko in her than she thought. "Argo and I overheard your little chat with Diabel. I didn't you could be so underhanded! I expected that from my mother, but never from the likes of you!"

"I can lie to a lot of people…" Weiss slumped a little. "But I can't lie to you, Asuna. Yeah, I've made some dirty deals." With that he put his hands on her shoulders. "But it's only because I love you so much…that day when we took a bath together? It's stuck with me. I can't stop thinking about it. That night of passion made me realize just how much you really mean to me, Asuna."

"I don't want to lose to my uncle. I can't fathom what drove him to these levels, but I'm not going to let him take away what I hold most dear." He ran fingers along her cheek, eliciting a very cute blush. "I want to see your face in the real world again, but until then we have to fight. I'll be your strength if you be mine…will you stand by my side, Asuna?"

Asuna smiled warmly, putting her arms around his neck. "Yes…I will." She said, and the two pulled together for a tender kiss. Even on the eve of a huge moment in Aincrad, when the threat of death was still so very real, the love of two people blossomed.

(December 3rd, 2022 AD, First Floor Labyrinth)

The atmosphere was tense as the raid group stood outside the door to the boss room. Weiss, Ronan, Asuna, and Diabel all stood in front of the gathered players. Weiss took his weapon, a massive two-handed sword, positioning it in front of him, resting his hands on the pommel. "All right, boys and girls. This is where our trip home begins." He looked across everyone. "Remember your jobs, and we can get through this alive."

"Let's wreck Illfang's shit bad, people!" Ronan declared. A cheer went up among the players. Kirito came up putting a hand on the heavy stone door, he looked to Ronan who nodded thusly, and with a strong push, the doors began to give, light from outside pooled inside, and everyone could see Illfang the Kobold Lord sitting at the opposite end of the room on a massive stone throne.

The raid party entered through the pillars. A ring of torches sprung to life with blue flames burning their light through the boss room, and an ethereal purple gleam flashed over the walls. Illfang let out a massive roar, raising his axe and shield, before leaping off the raised dais to the floor, leaving a generous sized dent in the floor.

Multiple flashes of light heralded the appearance of the Ruin Kobold Sentinels, looking like twisted parodies of knights. There was no more need for words; all that was needed was to fight. Diabel pointed his sword forward. "All warriors…ADVANCE!" With a final yell, the two sides charged, and the battle was joined.

Kouichirou, Ayami, and Kirito led the charge. The tip of Kou's spear began glowing an angry blood red as he buried his spear into the side of one of the sentinels before raising his shield to block its sword. Ayami was right behind him, spinning her halberd, slashing in a horizontal motion to chop the head of the sentinel clean off. Kou looked to his wife, giving a deft nod.

Kirito charged up a Slant attack, meeting the first Sentinel he happened upon, only for the monster to block his attack, he went for a Vertical, knocking it away. He was about to make his next attack when a red blur streaked by him, he caught a glimpse of a rapier with a light green sheen on the blade, stabbing multiple times into the Sentinel, causing it to shatter in blue-green light.

"You all right?" a feminine voice asked.

"Yeah, thanks for the assist." Kirito said, not able to see the girl's face, hidden by the hood of the dark red cloak she had on.

Sinon brought her daggers up, slashing another Sentinel repeatedly, even going for a kick, before burying both knives into the monster's skull, only to be knocked away by the Sentinel's mace, Kirito swept in, both he and Sinon double teamed the monster knight, sword and dagger interchanging in a mad fury.

It was then Weiss leapt into the fight, wielding a massive bastard sword. "Sorry for cutting in, but I couldn't let you have all the fun now, could I?" He quipped, whipping around in a wide slash, sending the Sentinel back. He pointed at Illfang. "You two go and help the others with the big guy. Asuna and I can handle the small fish." He indicated to the cloaked girl. Kirito and Sinon both exchanged glances before going to join the bulk of the raiding party.

They arrived just in time to see Agil and Kibaou slam their respective weapons into Illfang's side, leaving long, glowing red wounds across his body. Both Kirito and Sinon were quick to join in, Sinon going for a furious barrage of wild slashes, while Kirito went in aiming to use his newly learned Horizontal Square, tracing a rhombus across the boss monster's hide, knocking a moderate amount off the first HP bar.

It continued on for the better part of thirty minutes, slowly but deliberately knocking away at each HP bar. They were soon down to the final bar, everyone watching intently as the bar turned to yellow. Illfang's axe swept across Asuna, who barely avoided being decapitated, although her cloak was destroyed. She glared at the beast. "You asshole! I liked that cloak!"

She responded with a massive chain of Linear, within the past month she had made it look like a fine art, jabbing and thrusting with her trusty Wind Fleuret at such speeds, the human eye couldn't follow. She gracefully flipped over Illfang's clumsy swing, meeting up with Weiss. "Having a good day, dear?" He quipped, shouldering his heavy blade.

"He trashed the cloak you gave me!" Asuna huffed.

"Oh did he?" Weiss smirked. "If that's the case, our friend here is going to have pay for that." The couple brought their weapons up, charging at Illfang, their fellow warriors parting ways to let them through, even Diabel gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. The Kobold Master swung its axe, only to be deflected by Weiss's sword, giving Asuna an opening to use her newly learned Quadruple Pain, knocking the beast back.

This was Weiss's cue to pull out a Cyclone move, leaping up as he began his spin, managing to leave a nasty gash across the monster's wide belly, knocking the HP bar to red. Illfang snarled, tossing his weapons aside. "This is you guys! He's going for his…" His eyes widened when he saw the weapon the boss monster had pulled out. Instead of the curved blade they were expecting, it was long and straight. "Not a talwar!"

Before he could shout out a warning, Diabel and his party charged in, ready to strike a decisive blow, when Illfang swung his massive blade, causing all seven to be knocked back. The Kobold roared, bringing his weapon down to hit Diabel with a brutal, four hit combination attack. "Diabel!" Kibaou yelled.

"Group E and F, get the other members of Group C out of there!" Ronan ordered. "Damn, they all got stunned!"

Kirito noticed the prone figure of Diabel, currently resting in Asuna's lap as Ronan and Weiss stood over him. He ran over. "Is he going to be all right?" He asked, watching as his HP bar slowly inched toward empty. Kirito pulled out a recovery potion, passing it onto Weiss. "Here, give him this!"

Weiss was about to pour it on Diabel, but the blue clad swordsman weakly bushed the bottle away. "No…I don't deserve it." He whispered. "Weiss, Ronan I'm sorry…just promise me…that you get them all home safe. I really did…want that." With that his eyes closed, and he shattered into blue light.

"Damn it!" Ronan stamped the ground in frustration. "Even if he was a prick, he didn't deserve to die like that!" He glared at Illfang. "Okay, time to put that thing down!"

"Everyone retreat back ten steps!" Weiss ordered, looking to Asuna, Sinon, and Kirito. "You guys…we're going to lay the hurt on that bastard, and make him squeal like the oversized dog that he is!" The four man team didn't hesitate to leap into the fight. The white haired swordsman began barking orders. "All right, Sword Boy and I will offset Illfang's strikes. Asuna, you and Dagger Girl will deal the actual damage to them. We have to strike fast and hard, and watch out for that AoE swing."

Illfang swung the blade again, all four of them scattered. Kirito and Weiss's blades caught the massive nodachi. Asuna and Sinon both took their attack, Asuna going for an Oblique while Sinon went for a quick double slash. They leaped out of the way, allowing their respective men to once again block the giant sword. Twin daggers and rapier cut through Illfang.

Weiss took note of the HP bar, the barest sliver of red showing. "Let's take this beast down!" He looked to Kirito, who nodded, charging up what would be the final attack of this fight. His Anneal Blade glowing bright blue, he slashed from the upward left to the middle near the bottom, in mid swing, Kirito adjusted his grip going for an other diagonal slash to the top on the right side, creating a "V" shape.

"You're done!" Kirito smirked, watching as Illfang the Kobold Lord let out a final roar of agony before glowing blue, vanishing in a shattering of glass. It took a few minutes for everything to sink in. It was then the word "Congratulations" flashed into view, hovering over everyone's heads. Windows came up in front of all the players, indicating what they had earned from the battle.

The entire raid party let out a large cheer of victory. It hadn't been easy, but they had finally beaten the floor boss, and could now move on through Aincrad. Kirito panted, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the message. "Congratulations, You have won the Last Attack bonus!" Another window opened showing he had won a piece of armor called "The Coat of Midnight."

"Hey!" Kirito turned to see Sinon, with an uncharacteristically big grin on her face. "That was incredible! You kicked that thing's ugly ass!" She helped him up, giving him a huge hug. They were soon joined by Weiss, Ronan, Asuna, and Agil.

"That was some pretty good swordsmanship. Our victory was made possible because of you." Agil noted. The others began voicing their own acknowledgement, starting to clap for Kirito. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was dry after the intense fight.

"Not bad, pal. I don't think Illfang knew what hit him once you guys started whaling on him!" Ronan smirked, thumping Kirito on the back. Weiss took Kirito by the shoulder, the three boys walking a distance away where few could hear him.

"Hey…that was some fine blade work back there." Weiss said. "Listen man, I'll cut right to the chase. It was in large part to you that we managed to take down that oversized…whatever the hell it is. Think you would be willing to become the public face for our crew?" He gazed to the still cheering crowd. "Diabel was our rallying point, and even though he's gone, we still need someone who the others can look to."

Kirito wasn't sure what to make of this. He was just doing what he had thought was right, and never really saw himself in any kind of position of authority. "Uh…can I have some time to think about this?" Weiss nodded before looking to Ronan, he inclined his head, and the two ringleaders headed off to give Kirito his space.

"What do you think of him?" Weiss spoke to his cohort in a hushed tone. "I mean, he clearly knew what he was doing when we took down that oversized gerbil. Not to mention he doesn't look like someone who's overly shifty."

Ronan nodded. "Yeah, this guy strikes me as being the fairly honest type." He looked to where the other players were crowding around Kirito. "He certainly seems to have won over everyone else. I think we have a winner on our hands."

"Stop cheering for him!" Kibaou's voice cut down the good mood. He glared at Kirito. "It was because of you Diabel died! Don't try to deny it! You knew the technique he was going to use! I saw how you two looked at each other! The boss killed Diabel because you didn't warn him in time!"

"That's right!" Another player angrily shouted out. "He knew the boss's weapon was different, and that would it change the attack patterns. Those lousy beta testers really did screw us over!" the entire crowd that had just been cheering for Kirito's victory was now becoming increasingly more and more hostile.

Kouichirou's hands gripped tightly around his spear, contemplating going for Kibaou from behind, but Ayami's hand on his wrist, and a subtle shake of the head dissuaded him. Ronan and Weiss looked to each other with growing alarm, they had hoped that by taking down the boss it would bring the team together, but now one man threatened everything. The entire witch hunt was about to start up again, this time even worse.

Weiss was about to open his mouth when a faint laughter permeated the room; it was a cold laughter, completely devoid of any compassion or merriment. Everyone turned to see Kirito with a disgusted view on his face. "So you think I'm a beta tester? You really think I'm so pathetic?" The entire crowd parted, letting him walk through as he headed for the stairs leading up to the next floor.

"Kirito, what are you talking about?" Sinon couldn't understand what her partner was up to. Her only response was a raised finger. She then saw Kirito's eyes, and she put it together. "Oh you…stupid, noble moron!" She muttered, as he walked by, sweeping the entire crowd with an unforgiving glare.

"Don't even think of lumping me in with those pathetic noobs. Most of the thousand players who got a slot in the beta were so green it wasn't even funny. They didn't even know how to use the menu…much less level up." He put his hands in his pockets. "You guys are better than they ever were." Kouichirou wasn't sure if he should be insulted by the younger player's words.

Kirito turned to face everyone. "Me…I'm nothing like those guys. During the beta, I made it higher than anyone else." Everyone took a subconscious step back at the sinister smirk on his face. "Yeah…I knew all about the boss's attack patterns because I faced monsters with similar moves on the upper floors." He chuckled ominously. "I know other things too, more than any info broker. Hell…I make the legendary Rat look clueless. So tell me…does anyone want to mess with me? Go right ahead. I'll beat you down so fast you won't even have time to blink."

"You're worse than a beta tester, you're a fucking cheater!" Kibaou snarled. Everyone started chattering again. They had thought it was bad enough to be shown up by a beta tester, but now this was something a hundred times worse, infinitely worse!

"He's a beta tester and a cheater! He's a Beater!" Another one said. Asuna looked to Weiss, wondering if he knew anything about this. He just gave a slight shake of the head. This was something even he wasn't expecting.

Kirito's lips twisted into a sinister grin, and everyone immediately shut up, there was an almost maniac glee in his eyes. "A Beater, huh?" He opened his menu. "Yeah…I like that sound of that a lot. Just don't confuse me with those pathetic beta testers anymore." He scrolled down to his newly won prize and equipped it. A long, dark coat materialized on his body.

He looked over his shoulder. "Come on, Sinon. We're leaving."

She looked to the others, giving them all a brief glare of disgust. "Pray none of you losers ever run into us. I can't guarantee I'll be so nice then!" Sinon hissed, before taking off after her partner.

"Ronan, stay here and tend to the injured, I've got something I need to do." Weiss said, running for the stairs himself.

(Floor Two)

The warm sun was the first thing Kirito felt when he stepped out onto the second floor of the floating Black Steel Castle of Aincrad. A slight breeze brushed up against him, causing the Coat of Midnight to blow around him. He sighed, wanting to just collapse right there. "Well…that was really hard to do."

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" He turned to see Sinon standing there. She stalked up, whapping him upside the back of the head. "That was the most reckless thing I think I've ever seen you do! You just painted a colossal bullseye on your back! Not to mention mine! No one will want anything to do with you now!" She wasn't expecting him to give a wan smile.

"That was the entire point, Sinon. Now that the heat is on me…it won't be on the other beta testers. That guy, Kibaou, He was about to incite a riot. They would have kept putting all the blame on the beta testers until they actively started hunting them down. I just gave them an outlet for all their hostility." He sighed. "With any luck, they'll forget all about the remaining beta testers. If that's the burden I have to shoulder…then so be it."

Sinon put her hands on her hips. "Okay, but it's still reckless."

"I couldn't agree more." They turned to see Weiss coming up the stairs. "But reckless or not…his plan worked. Although I can't say I'm too happy about this turn of events." He walked up to Kirito, red eyes meeting grey. "That wasn't your call to make, dude. I mean seriously, anyone with two brain cells to rub together would see you were fronting. Kibaou is a special kind of stupid to fall for that ridiculous melodrama you put on."

"It's not like I can take it back now." Kirito pointed out. "If I hadn't said anything, it could have gotten ugly real fast, and we both know it."

Weiss folded his arms, letting out a resigned sigh. "No…you aren't wrong. I was honestly ready to go straight for Kibaou after he opened that big fat mouth of his. It would have started a full-blown civil war, which you may have neatly prevented, and for that I will say thank you." He held his hand out. "My name is Weiss. Thanks for taking one for the team. Just don't make it a habit all right?"

Kirito smiled, taking Weiss's hand in a firm handshake. "Sure, the name's Kirito, and this is Sinon." The dagger user idly waved.

"Well…despite what the cactus head thinks, you will always be welcome in our raid party. You can count on that." Weiss said. "I have a feeling we'll need all the help we can get."

Their handshake was a firm already. It tightened further. It was a sign of the mutual respect. This was the start of the legend nobody besides three of them knew of.


End file.
